Top 10 Accounting Headlines from Offshore It is well established that the fiduciary and statutory duties of directors are generally owed to the company. The recent decision of In the Matter of Stanford International Bank Limited and Others [2009] EWHC 1441 (CH) raises important considerations for liquidators of offshore investment vehicles who seek recognition and assistance from the English Courts pursuant to the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 (the “2006 Regulation”). On 26 June 2008 the Liechtenstein Parliament passed the new foundation law. The new Foundation Act (hereafter referred to as the StiG), together with the amendments to the Law on Persons and Companies (PGR), was published on 26 August 2008 in the Liechtenstein Law Gazette No. 220/2008. As of March 1, 2009, the laws of the Cayman Islands dealing with corporate insolvency were updated by the implementation of amendments to the Cayman Islands Companies Law that were originally enacted in 2007 but lay dormant pending the promulgation of three new sets of procedural rules governing the conduct of insolvency matters and an amendment to the rules of the Cayman Islands Grand Court. Over the last five years, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has introduced new provisions that will be of particular interest to corporate groups worldwide that contain one or more of the hundreds of thousands of BVI companies in existence. Mauritius is now well known as an international financial services center for setting up and administering investment funds. Indeed as at 31 March 2007, more than US$36 billion were invested by Mauritius funds into equities globally, and principally in emerging markets. What are the most common forms of security taken in relation to immovable and movable property? Are any specific formalities required for the creation of security by companies? The credit crunch has put pressure on a wide range of structures and, as a result, lenders, borrowers and other counterparties are looking more closely at the impact of possible insolvency proceedings. Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) and Bill Nelson (D-Florida) recently proposed the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act in the U.S. Senate. The provisions governing the recognition of a foreign (including a UK) insolvency office holder under Jersey law are found in Article 49 of the Bankruptcy (Désastre) (Jersey) Law 1990 (the 'Law') and Article 6 of the Bankruptcy (Désastre) (Jersey) Order 2006 (the 'Order'). |