Is Your Business Compliant - Or is Halcyon for you?

The British Virgin Islands is a unique section of the world with a population of less than 50, 000 persons. The persons that are born here are far less and the amount of businesses registered are almost 0.5 million which per capita is arguably the highest in the world.

While businesses always have to operate in accordance with laws, rules, regulations and a plethora of standards, the entrepreneurs that possess the vision and most importantly the capital to invest may not always be au fait with the ‘ins’ and “outs” of the requirements and as one adage says, “a little help goes a long way.”

Compliance generally means conforming or acquiescing, and as it suggests, a compliance officer is one that allows or ensures that your business is in conformity with the plethora of legislation and other guidelines.

With close to half a million businesses, the BVI must have quite a few of these persons. Only the relevant authorities would be able to say, but for this week, Money & Business was drawn to Christopher Holder and Halcyon. But just who is this young man and what exactly is Halcyon? 

Born in New York, Holder said that he stopped counting his age after turning 40 and after being lured to Tortola by his wife (Vernicia) whom he has been married to for some 12 years, he decided to put his skills that he acquired to work for him and for the benefit of the BVI.

He got some of his exposure at the Lehman Brothers in the U.S, which up until recently was one of the largest companies in the world. The company did not fare too well in the Global Financial crisis.

While there, however, he said that he did not like the deception in selling stocks for persons, so he left and subsequently moved to Barbados where he has some roots and attempted to set up a small business, but there was one hurdle.

For Holder at the time, it was either choose the girl or the business. Vernicia wanted to move back to Tortola, so it worked out perfectly because when he got to the BVI, he realised that “the trust industry was missing a certain element that was prescribed under the law which was the whole compliance function.”

Bringing a whole new standard to the industry, Holder imposed through his company on the BVI his expertise as a member of the International Compliance Association, “ever since then the compliance function has become more structured,” he said.    

Versed in the some of the separate financial services in the BVI and approved as a regulatory officer in Dubai, Holder has a formidable CV when he approaches any client. According to him, his service is not the most advertised because he is at a point in his life where he wants to choose his clients.

According to Holder, there are some clients that would require him to just stroke their egos but that is not what he wants. He wants to be involved with businesses that need his services and where he can positively contribute to its sustainability, growth and compliance. 

According to Holder, Halcyon Compliance Consultancy prides itself on being ‘practitioner lead,’ noting that, “the services provided come from our team who have accumulated many years hands-on practical compliance experience.”

Their tailored approach to ensuring compliance for a company is based on knowledge transfer that filters throughout Investments House.

“It is important to us that we not only provide you with the solutions you are looking for, but also the necessary skills to ensure ongoing successful delivery. We provide advisory services, specialising on the compliance implications of strategic and operational development.”

Halcyon uses a hands-on comprehensive approach to executing their services. “Our bespoke analyses and service, developed uniquely for your organization, can help identify opportunities to save you time and money by drilling down to meet your specific informational needs,” Holder explained.

Halcyon provides specialist expertise and advice in the areas of Management of the Application Preparation of the DIFC Application Forms and supporting documents; Preparation of compliance and AML manuals and supporting documents; Preparation of regulatory business plan and supporting policies and procedures, including business continuity plan, IT contingency plans, among others, as well as the Undertaking of thorough compliance risk review, including the preparation of Compliance and AML aspects of the Application.

Prior to starting up Halcyon, Holder was an Authorised Individual, Compliance Officer, Money Laundering Reporting Officer, and Senior Manager as designated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

He was also a Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer for eight years based out of the BVI in the Caribbean and has worked in the private banking and trust areas, for Big Four accounting firm, and the islands' largest law firm, with offices in five jurisdictions.

Holder’s responsibilities have covered compliance in the Corporate Services, Private Client, Trust, Captive Insurance, and Collective Investment Funds business areas.

These experiences have provided him with exposure to a wider array of regulations and associated issues in the Americas, Caribbean, UK, Europe, the Middle and Far East.

Holder has acted as a Resident Compliance Practitioner in the Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh) and has facilitated workshops on compliance and AML globally.

As part of his remit, he was also responsible for conducting compliance and anti-money laundering training to all levels of staff internally, and on occasions, was asked to provide such training to firms externally.

Holder has written policies and procedures for new firms entering into a vigorously regulated environment and has coordinated compliance reviews over several jurisdictions. He has sat on select Government committees and special advisory boards.

Most recently, he sat on the BVI International Finance Centre – Financial Services Marketing Advisory Committee and the BVI Financial Services Institute as an Advisory Council Member.

His close involvement with both local and regional compliance matters afforded him the opportunity to serve as a Committee member in the Caribbean Regional Compliance Association and he held several positions in the BVI Association of Compliance Officers and Practitioners, including Chairperson.

Christopher is a Fellow of the International Compliance Association and has an MBA in Wealth Management, Fiduciaries, and Trustees, with the University of Manchester, Manchester Business School.