On September 20 2016 the BVI Commercial Court clarified whether the BVI Insolvency Act 2003 provides a basis for liquidators to draw fees on account before having formal approval from either a creditors' committee or the court. The court also specifically provided that newly appointed liquidators can draw payments of up to 80% on account of their reasonable remuneration and expenses on an interim basis without the need to obtain prior approval from the creditors' committee or the court.
This guide outlines the procedure for a voluntary liquidation of a solvent Cayman Islands exempted company and the duties of its liquidator. It also sets out the process for striking an exempted company off the Register of Companies in the Cayman Islands.
Voluntary liquidation
A Cayman Islands exempted company can be wound up voluntarily:
In UVW v XYZ (27 October 2016), the BVI Court gave an important judgment in relation to the obligations of a registered agent to provide third party disclosure to assist a foreign judgment creditor trace assets. This judgment is a broadening of the Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction. It will enable a judgment creditor who has no evidence of misuse of a specific corporate structure but who can evidence a general pattern of wilfully evasive conduct by the judgment debtor, as opposed to a mere failure to pay, to obtain third party disclosure in support of asset tracing or execution.
Judges from 10 jurisdictions met in October 2016 in Singapore for the inaugural Judicial Insolvency Network Conference.
High on the agenda of the esteemed conference participants was the preparation of Draft Guidelines to provide practical assistance for Judges and insolvency practitioners alike in dealing with difficult issues which cross-border insolvencies and restructurings commonly face.
Since The Insolvency Act 2003 (the Act) was enacted, there has been some confusion as to whether it provided a basis for liquidators to draw fees on account before having formal approval from either a creditors' committee or the Court. On 20 September 2016, the BVI Commercial Court clarified the position and specifically provided that newly appointed liquidators could draw payments of up to 80% on account of their reasonable remuneration and expenses on an interim basis without the need to obtain prior approval from the creditors' committee or the Court.
JPLs play an unheralded but crucial mediating role in Bermuda
This is a short guide to solvent voluntary liquidations of companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. It is not intended as a substitute for full legal advice but more as an aide memoire to the procedures involved.
1. Why is the company being put into solvent voluntary liquidation/being "wound up"?
A BVI company generally has no limit on its duration. However, like all good things, a company may come to the end of its useful life. This may be because the assets it held have been transferred out or sold.
In a recent judgment the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that the holder (an "Estate Claim Pledgee") of a right of pledge (an "Estate Claim Pledge") which secures one or more estate claims (each, a "Secured Estate Claim") is entitled to satisfy such claims out of the proceeds resulting from enforcement of such right of pledge ("Estate Claim Pledge Enforcement Proceeds") during the pledgor's bankruptcy provided that the claims have arisen from a legal relationship having come into existence prior to the bankruptcy.
Dutch Supreme Court 15 April 2016 (ECLI:NL:HR:2016:665)
In a recent judgment, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that a party who purchases and accepts the transfer of moveable assets subject to a retention of title acquires a right of conditional ownership with respect to those moveable assets and has the power to create an unconditional right of pledge over such right of conditional ownership.
- Inleiding
Dit is onze halfjaarlijkse nieuwsbrief over ontwikkelingen op het gebied van het Nederlandse vennootschaps- en ondernemingsrecht. In deze Corporate Update geven wij eerst een overzicht van enkele wetswijzigingen. Verder gaan we in op de stand van zaken van een aantal lopende wetsvoorstellen en tot slot signaleren wij nog enkele overige actualiteiten.