Category Archives: Client Advisories

With almost 500,000 active British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) business companies in existence, and over 10,000 new incorporations per quarter, the BVI is universally recognised as one of the world’s leading offshore jurisdictions.

The purpose of this client briefing is to provide a market update and high level overview of recent trends in the BVI.

Campbells advises on all aspects of BVI and Cayman Islands law and has further expanded its BVI litigation, corporate and investment funds departments in recent months.

The Cayman Islands Government has opened its online Automatic Exchange of Information Portal for registration and reporting under FATCA. The deadline for notification in advance of reporting is less than three weeks away.

In a recent decision of importance in the context of winding up petitions and proof of debt appeals, the Court of Appeal has clarified that the Cayman court may order that an impecunious corporate petitioner or appellant provide security for the respondent’s defence costs, irrespective of whether the petitioner/appellant is a foreign or a Cayman company.

The Cayman Islands’ Court of Appeal has overturned the first instance Weavering decision, which had held a hedge fund’s former non-executive directors liable for $111m on the basis they had acted with “wilful neglect and default” in failing to spot that the fund’s main “assets” were fictitious swap agreements purportedly worth $637 million, but which in fact were made with a related counterparty which had no assets to satisfy its liabilities under those agreements.

Ross McDonough, Mark Goodman and Rebecca Lloyd shed light on the recent decision of the Chief Justice concerning a ‘clawback’ claim by liquidators of an insolvent fund. The judge ruled that redeemed shareholders were allowed to keep their money despite the fund having been cash flow insolvent at the time they were paid.

Brian Child, Guy Manning and Ross McDonough summarise the recent decisions of the Privy Council in the Saad and Singularis cases and propose practical solutions to the issues currently existing for liquidators seeking information in relation to companies in liquidation in the Cayman Islands.

FATCA is a USA and UK tax initiative with significant obligations imposed on Cayman Islands funds. All Cayman Islands funds will need to consider whether such are required to register under FATCA and undergo regular reporting. The following briefing paper provides a wide overview and guidance on registration and on-going reporting requirements.

The Cayman Islands Government announced, on 21 March 2014, its intention to introduce a regime for the registration and licensing of directors appointed to the boards of the following types of entities, known as “Covered Entities”: mutual funds regulated under the Mutual Funds Law (Revised) (“Regulated Mutual Funds”); and companies to which paragraphs 1 and 4 of Schedule 4 of the Securities and Investments Business Law (Revised) apply (“Excluded Persons”), usually entities providing investment management or investment advisory services.

The Law was brought into force on 4 June 2014 along with the Directors Registration and Licensing (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2014 and is now in full force and effect in the Cayman Islands. This Law denotes the first time that directors of Regulated Mutual Funds and Excluded Persons have been regulated directly in the Cayman Islands and it gives to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority the power to approve or deny a registration or a licence.

The new Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Law (“Law”) was enacted on 21 May 2014 and is now in full force and effect in the Cayman Islands.

This briefing paper explains schemes of arrangement under Cayman Islands law. Under sections 86 and 87 of the Companies Law (2013 Revision) the Grand Court may sanction a compromise or arrangement between a company and its creditors or members or any class of them.