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The following briefing provides a round-up of the Cayman legal and regulatory developments during the third quarter of 2022 that may be of interest to funds clients. We are pleased to note that there is nothing critical or requiring immediate action at this time.

Summary of recent legal and regulatory developments

Introduction

The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (“Companies Law”) provides for companies, protected cell companies (“PCCs”), incorporated cell companies (“ICCs”) and cells of PCCs and ICCs to be placed into administration and for an administrator to be appointed to manage that entity's affairs whilst the administration order remains in force.

Over the past two or three years, we have seen an increasing number of cases where a client holds and wishes to sell or transfer shares in a Cayman Islands company which is in liquidation, or is seeking to purchase shares in such a company from another party.  In those circumstances, the transfer of the shares would be void absent the validation of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, as a result of section 99 of the Companies Law (2013 Revision) ("Section 99").  Section 99 is in the following terms:

In September 2012, Grant Thornton were appointed by the Royal Court of Guernsey as joint administrators of a Guernsey company called Montenegro investments limited (MIL) - a Guernsey property Investment Fund..  The joint administrators then appointed Ogier.

Current Status of MIL

This client briefing provides a general overview of schemes of arrangement for Guernsey companies under the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (the Companies Law).  A scheme of arrangement can involve almost any kind of corporate reorganisation, merger, acquisition or restructuring so long as the appropriate approvals and court sanction are obtained. In the context of restructurings, there is limited precedent in Guernsey, although such schemes of arrangement can be used to assist in insolvent/quasi-insolvent restructurings. 

Alan Roberts (the Liquidator) was the liquidator of both Kingston Management (Guernsey) Limited (KMGL) and Amazing Global Technologies Limited (AGTL).  He was appointed on 27 May 2009 and 31 May 2010 respectively. 

Introduction

If a company is insolvent, it is either not able to pay its debts as they fall due, or its assets are less than its liabilities.  An investor/creditor will have the ability to put the company into a formal insolvency procedure and, in most cases, appoint an independent third party to take control of the assets and investigate the conduct of the company’s directors, managers and other controlling functionaries.  Defined terms in this article are the same as the terms which were defined in the potential causes of action article.