“Now more people are thinking of wealth as a family thing, not as an individual thing.”
That observation from Argentine lawyer and wealth-planning specialist Martin Litwak captured one of the central themes of the second BVI Latin America Roadshow: families across the region are increasingly considering how wealth can be preserved, governed and transferred across generations.
As these priorities develop, the British Virgin Islands is reinforcing its role as a regulated, globally connected jurisdiction through which Latin American families, investors and businesses can hold assets, conduct international business and plan for the future.
Held under the theme “The BVI Advantage: Global Solutions for Latin America,” the Roadshow opened in Lima, Peru, on 13 July, continued to Bogotá, Colombia, on 15 July and concluded in Panama City, Panama, on 16 July 2026.
The programme brought together representatives of the Virgin Islands Government, BVI Finance, the BVI Financial Services Commission, BVI practitioners and leading Latin American legal, tax, fiduciary, investment and wealth-management professionals.
Presentations and discussions examined BVI business companies, limited partnerships, trusts, private trust companies and investment structures, alongside country-specific taxation, succession planning, regulatory developments, digital assets and the modernisation of the BVI’s financial-services infrastructure.
Latin America represents approximately 20 per cent of the BVI’s international business market and is the jurisdiction’s second-largest regional market after Asia-Pacific.
For much of the past 40 years, the BVI has served as a trusted partner to Latin American families, entrepreneurs, financial institutions and professional advisers.
Honourable Lorna G. Smith, OBE, Minister for Financial Services and Economic Development, said the Roadshow reinforced the strategic importance of the region.
“Latin America is an important region for the British Virgin Islands,” Honourable Smith said. “The BVI has a strong history of providing trusted, flexible and commercially relevant solutions, and we are committed to ensuring that our legal, regulatory and professional-services offering continues to respond to the region’s evolving needs.”
Elise Donovan, CEO of BVI Finance, said the programme demonstrated the breadth of the jurisdiction’s offering for Latin American clients.
“The BVI continues to be the international business and finance center that wants to provide structures for every aspect of your clients’ needs, from beginning to end,” Donovan said.
“We are very proud to be the jurisdiction that partners with the Latin American community. Latin America represents 20 percent of our market, and this partnership goes back 40 years. We want to continue from strength to strength as a resilient, trusted platform for international business.”
A consistent message throughout the Roadshow was that an international structure must be more than properly incorporated or established. Its legal form, documentation and actual operation must align.
Litwak, Founder and CEO of Untitled Strategic Legal Consulting and Chair of the BVI Finance Latin America Working Group, described three essential levels of compliance.
“The first one is legal,” he said. “The second one is formalities. The third is functionality.”
He explained that a company, trust or other vehicle must not only satisfy legal and documentation requirements, but must also be operated consistently with its governing documents.
“The way the structure operates needs to be consistent with what the structure says,” he said.
Speakers demonstrated how that principle applies differently in each market, depending on local tax laws, reporting obligations, the residence of family members, the location of assets and the commercial or succession objectives of the client.
The Roadshow began in Lima, marking BVI Finance’s first event of this kind in Peru and establishing a foundation for continued engagement with the country’s financial and professional-services community.
The programme introduced Peruvian advisers and businesses to the BVI’s legal, regulatory and commercial offering, while giving the BVI delegation greater insight into the local considerations affecting internationally connected Peruvian clients.
Braulio Delgado, Associate at Estudio Rodrigo, examined the tax and reporting obligations facing individuals and businesses that invest internationally or use foreign structures.
His presentation addressed controlled foreign company rules, international tax transparency, automatic exchange of information and the treatment of companies, trusts and investment vehicles under Peru’s tax framework.
Delgado explained that the Peruvian tax authority is examining international arrangements more frequently and often requests extensive supporting records.
“The Peruvian tax administration is increasing the frequency of tax audits about international structures,” he said.
“More than being harsh in the audits, they ask for a lot of documents. It is important to gather all the documents, to have all of them and to have a resident agent and professionals behind you to back you up in all these requirements.”
The discussion underscored the importance of maintaining corporate and accounting records, financial statements, bank information, trustee reports, resolutions and documentation demonstrating the legal and commercial basis of transactions.
Delgado also noted that interest in international structures is extending beyond taxation as Peruvian families become more focused on inheritance, asset organisation and long-term planning.
“Peruvians are more and more interested nowadays in these structures and vehicles,” he said. “Not only for tax implications, but also because of patrimonial issues and inheritance issues.”
The presentations examined how BVI structures could support internationally mobile families and businesses while remaining aligned with Peru’s reporting and tax requirements.
Participants also explored the role of companies, trusts and private trust companies in organising family assets, planning for succession and providing continuity where investments or family members are located in more than one country.
The Lima programme concluded with a fireside discussion and audience question-and-answer session focused on the practical application of BVI structures for Peruvian clients.
In Bogotá, the programme focused on the interaction between international structures and Colombia’s sophisticated and frequently changing tax framework.
Eric Thompson, Partner at Canon Thompson Law Firm, examined effective-place-of-management rules, controlled foreign company provisions, offshore indirect transfers, substance requirements and wealth taxation.
He cautioned that structures established years earlier should not be assumed to remain effective without periodic reassessment.
“You need to test the compliance of your structure,” Thompson said. “Things that were built 10 years ago or 15 years ago may have been totally feasible, but now they may have problems because of their connections to Colombian assets, Colombian tax residents or members of the family.”
The presentation highlighted the importance of reviewing structures when tax laws, family residence, ownership arrangements or the location of assets change.
Thompson described the BVI as an attractive jurisdiction for international planning, while emphasising that its structures must be managed consistently with their intended foreign status.
“The crucial thing is that the actual decisions of the BVI company are not taken in Colombia,” he said. “You have to be careful in your advice.”
Susana Casas, Associate Director and Head of the Wealth Management team at EJHR-Andersen Colombia, shared practical legal and wealth-planning considerations for Colombian families.
Her presentation explored how international structures could support succession, cross-border investment and the holding of assets while remaining aligned with Colombia’s legal, tax and reporting obligations.
The Bogotá discussions examined BVI business companies, limited partnerships, trusts, private trust companies and Virgin Islands Special Trusts, commonly known as VISTA trusts.
BVI business companies were highlighted for their flexibility in holding shares, investments, real estate and other assets, as well as their use in commercial and financing transactions.
Limited partnerships were discussed in the context of venture capital, private equity, investment funds and arrangements involving multiple investors.
Trusts and private trust companies were considered as tools for succession planning, family governance, asset protection and the continuity of family-owned businesses.
The speakers also considered the importance of identifying a client’s actual objective before recommending a structure. A request for a trust, foundation or holding company may reflect an underlying concern about control, inheritance, incapacity, family governance or the preservation of a business.
The appropriate solution therefore depends on the client’s assets, the residence of family members, the jurisdictions involved and the degree of control or participation the family wishes to retain.
Kishelle Blaize-Cameron, Deputy Director of the Specialised Supervision Unit at the BVI Financial Services Commission, provided updates on regulatory improvements, service timelines and anticipated developments.
She said the Commission sought to balance commercial effectiveness with its responsibility to protect the jurisdiction and meet international standards.
“We intend our regulatory framework to be very proportionate,” Blaize-Cameron said.
“We engage with our industry heavily before we make amendments and before we operationalize any piece of legislation, because we understand that when we administer the laws, the laws are impacting you, your businesses and your clients.”
She added that protecting the BVI’s reputation remained central to the Commission’s approach.
“In the BVI, what we have built, our reputation and our frameworks, we intend to protect,” she said.
“Our approach has to balance understanding commercial interests and facilitating them as far as we can, but always within the context of the international expectations that need to be managed.”
The discussion also addressed whether a foundation product could complement the BVI’s existing wealth-planning offering.
BVI practitioners explained that VISTA trusts, purpose trusts, private trust companies and companies limited by guarantee already provide flexible options capable of meeting many succession, governance and asset-holding objectives.
Blaize-Cameron invited the market to continue sharing proposals for products or reforms that could enhance the jurisdiction’s offering.
“We are always willing, engaging and open to adding additional products that are helpful and useful to our clients,” she said.
The Roadshow concluded in Panama City, where the discussions reflected the depth and history of the relationship between Panama and the BVI.
The connection between the two jurisdictions extends back more than 40 years and has been supported by strong legal, corporate, fiduciary and financial-services ties.
Honourable Smith described the visit as a homecoming.
“When we talk about coming home to Panama, it is because we have had this enduring relationship with Panama,” she said.
“Panama is not just our business colleague. Panama is our friend.”
She also recognised the consistent support Panamanian practitioners have provided to the BVI and to its engagement across the wider region.
“You are always there to support the British Virgin Islands,” she said.
The Panama programme examined the tax, legal, fiduciary and digital-finance issues affecting cross-border planning throughout Latin America.
Angelica Ortiz of Morgan & Morgan and Nelson Gutierrez of EY Panama provided insights into Panama’s evolving tax landscape.
Moderated by Fanny Evans of Morgan & Morgan, the session considered the tax and reporting obligations affecting clients using international investment, corporate and wealth-planning structures.
The speakers examined how changes in domestic and international tax rules can affect the design, reporting and continued operation of cross-border arrangements.
Vanessa King, Managing Partner at O’Neal Webster, joined Eyra Perdomo of Morgan & Morgan and Rosa Restrepo of ARIFA for a legal expertise presentation examining practical structures for Latin American families and businesses.
Together, they explored trusts, private trust companies, VISTA trusts and corporate structures, as well as the legal and practical considerations that should guide their use.
These considerations included the residence of settlors and beneficiaries, the nature and location of assets, succession objectives, family governance, incapacity, divorce, inheritance rules and the degree of involvement family members wish to maintain.
The discussion also highlighted the value of the BVI’s specialist Commercial Court, developed body of trust and company law, and experienced network of lawyers, fiduciaries, registered agents, accountants and other service providers.
Eileen Marquez, Business Strategy Vice-president at OMC Group described the BVI’s commitment to strong regulation as a competitive advantage.
“We hear a lot that the BVI is too tight or too regulated,” she said. “I need to admit that, to me, that is a plus.”
“The fact that you are passing regulations to keep the reputation of the BVI where it should be is an advantage.”
She also identified the BVI’s private trust company regime, VISTA legislation, digital-assets framework and Commercial Court as important strengths for advisers serving Latin American clients.
Liz Barahona of JTC Special Situations and Ami Ahir of Pacifica Legal examined the growth of digital assets and the opportunities emerging as technology, regulation and international finance converge.
Their presentation considered the changing expectations of clients involved in virtual assets, tokenisation and technology-driven investment, as well as the need for legal structures and regulatory frameworks that can support innovation responsibly.
The BVI delegation confirmed that work is progressing towards establishing a physical financial-services presence in Panama to support practitioners, clients and businesses throughout Latin America.
The initiative is intended to bring the BVI closer to a key international market and improve accessibility, responsiveness and direct engagement with the professionals who use the jurisdiction’s structures and services.
Kenneth Baker, Managing Director and CEO of the BVI Financial Services Commission, said the planned office reflected the strategic importance of the region.
“The opening of our Latin American office in Panama underscores the Commission’s commitment to one of the BVI’s key markets,” Baker said.
“We want to be accessible to the practitioners and businesses that use the BVI and to provide the attention, responsiveness and level of efficiency that this market deserves.”
He explained that the regional presence forms part of a broader programme of investment designed to modernise the Commission and strengthen its supervisory and authorisation functions.
“We continue to invest in our people, our systems and our regulatory infrastructure,” Baker said.
“We have moved to a more risk-based supervisory model, centralized our authorization function and strengthened our specialized supervision and market-conduct capabilities. We are also continuing to improve the digital platforms through which the industry engages with us.”
Baker said these investments are intended to support more efficient engagement while preserving the standards expected of an established international financial centre.
“We want the BVI to remain a modern and evolving jurisdiction that can be used for a wide variety of financial-services activities,” he said.
“Our role is to protect the reputation and integrity of the jurisdiction while ensuring that legitimate business can operate efficiently.”
Honourable Smith said Panama’s financial-services expertise, regional connectivity and longstanding relationship with the BVI made it a natural location for the office.
“The office is in Panama, but we expect it to serve the whole of the Latin American region,” she said.
The final opening date, location and institutional arrangements remain subject to official confirmation.
The Roadshow also highlighted the BVI’s growing role in digital assets and tokenised finance.
The jurisdiction’s Virtual Assets Service Providers framework became operational in 2023, creating a regulatory route for virtual-asset exchanges, custodians and certain other service providers.
The programme followed the publication of BVI Finance’s Destination Digital: An On-Chain Future report, which examined the use of BVI structures in the tokenised economy.
As at 1 June 2026, the report identified approximately US$1.5 billion in tokenised US Treasuries represented through BVI structures, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the global market.
It also identified approximately US$1.2 billion in stablecoins and 305 tokenised securities associated with BVI structures, positioning the BVI as the top jurisdiction for the number of tokenised securities identified in the study.
These findings demonstrate how the BVI’s established legal vehicles, regulatory experience and professional-services infrastructure are being applied to new forms of finance.
They also illustrate the connection between the jurisdiction’s traditional strengths in international business, investment structures and asset holding and its expanding role in the on-chain economy.
The discussions in Lima, Bogotá and Panama City demonstrated the breadth of issues now shaping international planning for Latin American clients.
Families are considering succession, governance and the long-term preservation of assets. Businesses and investors require structures that can support cross-border investment and commercial expansion. Advisers must navigate increasingly detailed tax, reporting and regulatory requirements.
The Roadshow provided a forum in which BVI representatives and local experts could examine these issues together and identify how the jurisdiction’s legal structures, regulatory framework and professional expertise can support legitimate international business.
BVI Finance will next return to the region for STEP LatAm in São Paulo, Brazil, continuing its work to deepen relationships, share expertise and demonstrate the value of the BVI’s international financial-services offering.
BVI Finance extends its appreciation to all speakers, moderators, local partners and attendees whose questions, insights and expertise contributed to the success of the Roadshow.
Special thanks are also extended to the BVI Finance Latin America Working Group, whose regional knowledge, professional networks and continued support were instrumental in planning and delivering the programme.
BVI Finance also recognises the delegates who participated in more than one Roadshow stop: Nicolas Bovio of ATU, David Fiebig of ICS Corporate Services, Joan Johnson of Praxis, Shanica Maduro Christopher of Vistra, Rosa Restrepo of ARIFA, Abraham Rezex and Horacio Woycik of Ascentium, Shamahl Smith of BVI Finance and Tiger Zhang of ICS Corporate Services.
BVI Finance is responsible for protecting and promoting the British Virgin Islands’ financial services industry. The BVI is recognised as a leading international business and finance centre, offering a robust legal framework, a stable and business-friendly environment, and a strong reputation for regulatory compliance.
With strategic expertise across wealth management, corporate services, trusts, fund administration, and digital assets, the BVI continues to attract global businesses, investors, and financial professionals who use its products and services.
Media Contact
Shamahl A. Smith
Communications and Research Officer
BVI Finance
Email: ssmith@bvifinance.vg
Telephone: +1 284 852 1957