British Virgin Islands: Insolvency/Bankruptcy

The BVI Commercial Court has followed the English Court of Appeal decision in Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle [2025] EWCA Civ 62, holding that an unrecognised foreign court judgment cannot found insolvency proceedings.

Against this backdrop, the Privy Council's decision in Aquapoint LP (in Official Liquidation) v Xiaohu Fan marks a significant development in the jurisprudence surrounding the 'just and equitable' winding up jurisdiction.

Part XIX of the Insolvency Act 2003 was introduced to support cross‑border cooperation. Still, many years on, there is real debate about the reach of section 467 and how far the court will go to help foreign proceedings.

On January 21, 2025, the Court of Appeal in England in Valeriy Ernestovich Drelle v Servis-Terminal LLC (Drelle) ruled that a debt based on a foreign judgment that has not been recognised in England cannot be used to found an application for a bankruptcy order

This guide explores the latest legislative, regulatory and enforcement developments in the British Virgin Islands and provides expert analysis on industry-wide topics including the local legal framework, the main stages of a fraud case, parallel proceedings, cross-jurisdictional mechanisms, recent developments, technology and other impacting factors.

In a judgment handed down on 15 April 2025, Stevanovich v Matthew Richardson and another (as Joint Liquidators of Barrington Capital Group Ltd (in Liquidation) [2025] UKPC 18...

The British Virgin Islands ("BVI") is one of the world's leading international financial centres and continues to be a jurisdiction of choice for corporate vehicles...

Creditors of companies in the BVI will often begin the process of recovering their debt by serving a statutory demand. In many such cases, companies so served will invoke the statutory...

Resulting from the recent uptick in British Virgin Islands ("BVI") schemes and plans of arrangement, the BVI Commercial Court has issued what is thought...