Top 10 Offshore Headlines from Europe A recent judgment of the Royal Court of Jersey demonstrates its approach to an application to set aside a trust and certain gifts made under it on the grounds of mistake. Mourant du Feu & Jeune has recently made a successful application on behalf of its client, Mr Gary Kaplan, to secure the discharge of a saisie judiciaire obtained at the United States' behest freezing all his realisable property situate in Jersey. A Jersey law trust. A Jersey corporate trustee. Divorcing beneficiaries, both of whom are resident in a foreign jurisdiction. What should you do? What shouldn’t you do? The International Monetary Fund – the most authoritative voice on world financial affairs – has given the Isle of Man ‘a clean bill of health’ with commendations for both the Financial Supervision Commission and the Insurance and Pensions Authority for the way in which they oversee the Island’s finance sector. The Gibraltar tax year runs from the 1st July to 30th June and on 25 June the Chief Minister Peter Caruana delivered his budget speech to reflect on the performance of the Gibraltar economy and set out the Government’s budget proposals for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2010. In 2007, as a result of HMRC receiving information from five major UK banks with offshore subsidiaries, HMRC offered an Offshore Disclosure Facility (“ODF”) which was designed to allow those people holding offshore accounts to declare those accounts and put their tax affairs in order. Much has been published on the newly proposed Alternative Investment Fund Directive (‘AIFM’) which if materialises in its proposed form would affect all fund managers in Europe who manage or market a fund which is not regulated in Europe as suitable for retail sales (effectively, any non-UCITS fund). Historically, offshore funds have been used as investment vehicles to minimise the impact of UK tax by keeping income profits offshore. The following table is intended to provide a quick high level comparison of the different company law requirements applicable to the incorporation and operation of companies in a number of offshore jurisdictions. Guernsey benefited from the flight to quality during the worst of the financial crisis but is now looking to establish itself as the domicile of choice for the next generation of MENA funds. | 
