BVI Companies and M&A
Economic Substance: Practical Advice 3 Years On …
10 Things Lawyers Should Know About BVI Transactions
Restoration applications are nothing new in the BVI. With hundreds of thousands of active companies and many more struck off due to administrative oversight, BVI legal practitioners frequently find themselves advising clients...more
Arbitration clauses are commonly found in commercial contracts. However, tricky issues arise when a company subsequently seeks an order for winding up, particularly in circumstances where the facts relied on in support of the...more
Jurisdiction clauses in trust deeds are critical in determining the forum for resolving disputes. These clauses can be either exclusive, conferring jurisdiction to a specific court, or non-exclusive, allowing for flexibility...more
Feb 2025 Following the success of the 1984 international Business Companies Act, the BVI’s financial services industry continued a trajectory of rapid development. As part and parcel of that development, commercial disputes...more
On 23 October 2024, Deputy High Court Judge Le Pichon of the Court of First Instance in the High Court of the Hong Kong SAR granted recognition and assistance to Chan Ho Yin (also known as Michael Chan) (“Mr Chan“) of Kroll...more
In Bermuda, our most popular posts and publications provided updates from our Corporate practice, particularly regulatory changes and insurance insights, along with reflections on private client matters and litigation....more
The Privy Council has recently upheld a BVI judgment refusing stay of a winding up petition in favour of arbitration. The recent Sian Participation Corp (In Liquidation) v Halimeda International Ltd1 Privy Council decision...more
A successful party to a buy-out order made in the course of unfair prejudice proceedings can find themselves in a difficult position, at the hands of an uncooperative respondent. Commonly, the Court will try liability and...more
Is it possible for a debtor company to issue debt (such as bonds) and contractually agree for that debt to rank lower in priority than debts owed by a company to other unsecured creditors? This article examines the commercial...more
Russell Crumpler & Christopher Farmer (as Joint Liquidators of Three Arrows Capital Ltd (in Liquidation)) v Three Arrows Capital Ltd (in Liquidation) and BVIHC (Com) 2022/0119 (unreported 26 July 2023) The BVI liquidation...more
On 8 February 2024, the Honourable Mr Justice Paul Webster KC dismissed an application to set aside a statutory demand served on Angola Group Holdings Limited (the “Company”) by Bai Jun Tian Cheng Limited (“Bai Jun”). Conyers...more
A Cayman Islands scheme of arrangement is a court approved compromise or arrangement between a company and its creditors or shareholders (or classes thereof). A scheme of arrangement is frequently used to implement a...more
On 29 November 2023, the UK Supreme Court (the “UKSC”) handed down its decision in Wolverhampton City Council and others (Respondents) v London Gypsies and Travellers and others (Appellants). In that case the UKSC thoroughly...more
As the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands reopens for 2024, we reflect on 2023 and some of the large-scale cross-border insolvency and restructuring proceedings, and complex commercial disputes dealt with in the jurisdiction...more
Norwich Pharmacal orders have long been a powerful tool employed in the BVI in aiding foreign proceedings. It is also quite a welcome development that the BVI Commercial Court has confirmed that a Norwich Pharmacal order is...more
Authorised Push Payment (“APP”) fraud, where victims are tricked into authorising payments to fraudsters, resulted in losses of £485.2m in 2022 and is reported to have risen by 22% in 2023. With consumer protection laws...more
Voidable dispositions in the BVI are governed by section 81 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Ordinance. The Act was passed in 1961 and is often overlooked in the heady world of fast-paced litigation where fraudsters...more
Nov 2023 In August 2021, the BVI Commercial Court handed down judgment on liability in favour of the Claimants against seven directors of Vanway for carrying out a fraud on the minority shareholders, in selling the assets of...more
The gravity of any arbitration award lies in its successful enforcement. The enforcement process may be frustrated and produce little result if the winning party does not identify at the outset the assets against which the...more
In its seminal decision in Broad Idea International v Convoy Collateral [2021] UKPC 24 (“Convoy”), a case which had its genesis in the BVI Commercial Court, the Privy Council delivered a ground-breaking exposition of the law...more
In order for a foreign judgment to be enforced in the BVI, it must either be: (1) registered and recognised as enforceable under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1922 (the “1922 Act); or (2) enforceable under the...more
The UK Supreme Court in a recent decision has clarified the approach to be taken in determining when a matter ought to be referred to arbitration under an arbitration clause, and when such a matter falls outside of an...more
In the crypto world, does it really matter where you are? Is there a sunny offshore paradise perspective on the click of a button and a fintech trade? The answer lies as usual in how to unravel a problem should it arise. Both...more
On 24-25 October 2023, Justice Wallbank of the BVI Commercial Court presided over a valuation trial in the matter of Soemarli Lie v Ng Min Hong & Success Overseas Finance Limited BVIHC(Com) 2020/147 (the “Valuation Trial”). ...more
BVI companies that were struck off prior to 1 January 2023 were automatically dissolved and ceased to exist after 30 June 2023. Any assets held by such companies have now automatically been vested in the Crown. In order to...more