Acting Finance Minister Alex Scott last night said he believed a British Government report into how Bermuda regulated its financial institutions contained no irregularities.

He said he had received no word from Finance Minister Eugene Cox, who was presented with the report from international accounting firm KPMG at the Foreign Office in London on Friday.

Last night, Mr. Scott told The Royal Gazette : "The Ministry has not been contacted by Mr. Cox, which I would guess indicates there are no problems.

"I believe no news is good news.'' He said Mr. Cox was taking an extended vacation from the Island and would not return to Bermuda until later this month.

Only on his return would a first hand analysis of the report into the way Bermuda and other offshore territories handled their financial businesses be given.

Although, he could not say whether the details of the report would be made public.

Mr. Scott added: "The Ministry of Finance is not in a position to really definitely say what might have been revealed in the report, however, we are hoping for the best.

"We do believe that had there been something unexpected in it, we would have received a report by now.

"We are all waiting to hear what it says.'' Last year, Britain offered the overseas territories full citizenship and the right to live and work within the UK and the European Union.

But in return, the British Government wants to be sure the jurisdictions are not tax havens or money-laundering centres.

KPMG was instructed to carry out reviews of the territories to ensure they employed the best financial practices in their offshore economies.

The review also looked at the Cayman Islands, Anguilla, The British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos, and studied legislation covering banking, insurance, securities, companies and trusts, as well as the regulatory authorities.

It also looked at arrangements for international co-operation and anti-money laundering systems.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) left Bermuda off its hit list of harmful tax havens earlier this year following a similar review.

And the Island was also listed by the Financial Action Task Force, formed by the G7 group of industrialised nations, as a co-operative jurisdiction.