British Virgin Islands 2021 Commission of Inquiry

rdf:langString British Virgin Islands 2021 Commission of Inquiry

rdf:langString The British Virgin Islands 2021 Commission of Inquiry was a public inquiry commissioned by the then Governor of the British Virgin Islands, Augustus Jaspert. The terms of reference were to make "a full, faithful and impartial inquiry into whether there was information that corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in relation to officials, whether statutory, elected or public, may have taken place in recent years; if there were such information, to consider the conditions which allowed such conduct to take place and whether they may still exist; and, if appropriate, to make independent recommendations with a view to improving the standards of governance and the operation of the agencies of law enforcement and justice in the Territory". A former judge of the English Court of Appeal, Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointed as the commissioner. The hearings and taking of evidence were conducted over several months in 2021 in different sittings, and the report was finally delivered on 4 April 2022 to Mr Jaspert's successor as Governor, John Rankin. After the Governor reviewed it privately it was published on 29 April 2022. The report was 946 pages long (including appendices), and concluded that "[a]lmost everywhere, the principles of good governance, such as openness, transparency and even the rule of law, are ignored". He described the governance as "appallingly bad", and that it was "highly likely" that serious dishonesty had taken place. The report also noted that various civil servants in the British Virgin Islands, including the Auditor General and the Director of Internal Audit had repeatedly drawn attention to these matters in a way that was "brave, forthright and clear" but that "they have been consistently ignored". He expressed the view that "the people of the BVI have been badly served in recent years. Very badly indeed", and that "the people of the BVI deserve better ... [and] the UK Government owes them an obligation not only to protect them from such abuses but to assist them to achieve their aspirations for self government as a modern democratic state". The report made a total of 49 recommendations, including four overarching recommendations. Most significantly amongst them, the report recommended that the Territory's Constitution be suspended and reviewed, and that the United Kingdom should reimpose direct rule over the islands for an initial period of up to two years. The UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, dispatched Overseas Minister Amanda Milling to the British Virgin Islands for urgent talks as a result. The report recommended that direct rule be conducted in conjunction with an 'Advisory Council' of people from the Territory, referring to the "huge pool of talent and wisdom in the BVI". In an apparently unrelated incident, after the inquiry concluded and the report had been delivered, but before it was published, the Premier, Andrew Fahie, was arrested in Miami relating to charges of conspiracy to import drugs and money laundering. Acting Premier Natalio Wheatley issued a statement saying he was "very concerned" by the recommendations, and later confirmed that direct rule was "not acceptable".