BVI Finance This Week 07/05/21

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09May

BVI Finance This Week 07/05/21

09 May, 2021 | View Counts (1210) |Return|

FRIDAY 7 MAY 2021

O'NEAL WEBSTER SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANKS IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CLAIM

The O’Neal Webster legal team of Paul Dennis, Q.C. and Nadine Whyte Laing successfully defended the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank against claims in excess of US $200m in total, brought by the depositors of two Anguillan “offshore” banks, National Bank of Anguilla (Private Banking and Trust) Limited and Caribbean Commercial Investment Bank Limited.

The claims arose out of the Central Bank’s intervention into the affairs of the parent banks of these entities – the National Bank of Anguilla Limited and the Caribbean Commercial Bank of (Anguilla) Limited, respectively – exercising emergency regulatory powers conferred by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement, aimed at preserving the financial stability of Anguilla’s banking sector and that of the wider Eastern Caribbean sub-region.

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GOLD LEAF CONSULTING STEERS BVI’S FIRST SUCCESSFUL FINTECH SANDBOX PARTICIPANT

The first participant in the BVI’s innovative Regulatory Sandbox was approved by the BVI Financial Services Commission (BVI FSC) on 16 April 2021. Gold Leaf Consulting Limited (Gold Leaf), under the leadership of CEO Mrs. Julia Shamini Chase, was engaged by the successful Sandbox Participant as regulatory consultant, to provide advice and expertise in relation to the application, pursuant to the Financial Services (Regulatory Sandbox) Regulations, 2020 (Sandbox Application).

As regulatory consultant, Gold Leaf prepared and submitted the Sandbox Application, inclusive of drafting the relevant supporting policies and procedures manuals on behalf of the Sandbox Participant and provided strategic direction and oversight for obtaining successful approval.

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LIQUIDATE OR ARBITRATE - A BALANCING ACT

The interplay between arbitration and insolvency proceedings has been a recurring theme across common law jurisdictions in recent months. It is therefore timely to consider the conflict between parties' contractual rights to arbitrate and their statutory rights to present a winding-up petition and how a balance can be struck when determining which should prevail.

In A Creditor v Anonymous Company Ltd (AC v ACL),1 the petitioning creditor filed an application in the Commercial Division of the High Court of the British Virgin Islands (the Court and the BVI respectively) seeking the appointment of liquidators over a BVI company (ACL) under section 8 of the BVI Insolvency Act 2003 (the Insolvency Act).

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POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC DISSOLUTION OF BVI COMPANIES AVERTED THROUGH RESTORATION

Marcia McFarlane

Christopher Pease

Julie Engwirda

Jeremy Child

In the recent case of Global Diversity Opportunity & Anr v The Registrar of Corporate Affairs, the BVI Commercial Court had to consider whether it could avert what it referred to as the “potentially catastrophic” consequences of two companies having been mistakenly liquidated.

Global Diversity and PA Grand are both BVI companies within the PAG group of companies which did business with an Australian property group. Global Diversity acted as the main lending vehicle to the Australian group and in turn sourced funding from a syndicate of lenders. PA Grand held a mortgage over a portion of land in Australia, containing 121 houses, as security for repayment of the loans by the Australian group.

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ANNUAL RETURN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN BVI LICENSEES

The BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) has introduced new annual return reporting requirements for certain categories of licensees, including trust companies, investment managers/ investment advisors and fund administrators.

Following the recent introduction of the Financial Services (Prudential and Statistical Returns) (Amendment) Order, 2021, licensees caught by these new regulatory requirements are now required to prepare and submit an annual return (a Fiduciary Services Annual Return for fiduciary services companies and an Investment Business Annual Return for investment business licensees), together with an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Return (the AML/CFT Return).

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TRIDENT TRUST INTRODUCES YACHT SERVICES

We are delighted to announce the addition of specialised marine services to our ongoing list of corporate, fiduciary and fund services in over 44 jurisdictions. Our global marine capabilities are delivered through our dedicated marine hubs across the Caribbean and Europe.

We offer a comprehensive range of services for both the luxury yacht and commercial shipping sectors, including vessel registration, crew payroll & HR services, local representation, accounting support and the formation and administration of ownership structures across multiple jurisdictions.

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AFRICAN MINING LOOKS OFFSHORE

Nicholas Kuria

The African mining industry is an attractive destination for many global mining companies, but structuring deals on the continent is not always straightforward for foreign investors in the sector. That backdrop means many companies and investors turn to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for investment expertise and support.

Conyers is one of the leading law firms in the BVI and the firm has a wealth of experience advising mining companies across the world, including in relation to investments in Africa. The BVI is a popular jurisdiction for the purposes of structuring such deals for a number of reasons, including the flexible legislative framework and the fact that BVI companies are recognized by and familiar to investors, lenders and securities regulators globally.

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HARNEYS APPOINTS PETER FERRER AS CO-HEAD OF LITIGATION, INSOLVENCY AND RESTRUCTURING

Peter Ferrer

Harneys is pleased to announce the promotion of Partner Peter Ferrer to co-head of the firm’s global Litigation, Insolvency and Restructuring team. Peter will jointly lead the team alongside Partner Phillip Kite.

Peter acts on behalf of institutions, companies, corporate entities and high net worth individuals. He is an experienced trial lawyer and has extensive experience of asset tracing and enforcement. Peter also heads the firm’s BVI-based Russian and CIS team and is consistently ranked by leading directories. Prior to joining Harneys BVI in 2016, he practised as a barrister at a leading set of chambers in London.

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WALKERS BVI BOOSTS FUNDS PRACTICE WITH HIRE OF SENIOR COUNSEL PAUL WALDRON

Paul Waldron

Walkers is pleased to announce that Paul Waldron has re-joined the firm as Senior Counsel in the Funds team in its British Virgin Islands office. Paul previously worked with Walkers between 2014 and 2019.

Paul brings more than 15 years experience as a funds lawyer to the firm and has a wealth of expertise, having practised law in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Guernsey and Ireland. Paul advises clients on the structuring, formation and ongoing operation of BVI hedge funds, closed-ended funds and investment managers, with a focus on emerging managers.

Matthew Cowman, Walkers' BVI Office Managing Partner stated, "We are delighted that Paul has re-joined our BVI office. His extensive experience will enhance our practice and global team and we look forward to seeing continued growth in Walkers' BVI funds practice."

AMS TRUSTEES LIMITED EXPANDS ITS BVI FOOTPRINT

AMS Trustees Limited is proud to announce that it has expanded its BVI operations by merging Sable Trust Limited into its business.

The merger of Sable Trust Limited into AMS Trustees Limited is a union of two BVI Licensees with a long view on the BVI and a vision to continue to provide high-value services from BVI to an international client base that includes multinational corporations, alternative investment funds and private high net worth individuals.

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