JD Supra Cayman Islands

Publisher:: JD Supra
Publication date:: 2019-04-29

Publisher

JD Supra (49)

Law Firm

Latest documents

Cayman Update: Transfers of insurance business without approval by CIMA in breach of Section 31 of the Insurance Act, 2010 are void ab initio
On 17 May 2023, the Honourable Justice Sir Anthony Smellie KC held in Premier Assurance Group SPC Ltd. (in Official Liquidation) v Providence Insurance Company I.I (for and on behalf of Premier Assurance Segregated Portfolio Puerto Rico SAP) and others that a transfer of insurance business made in breach of the requirement to obtain approval from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA") pursuant to Section 31 of the Insurance Act, 2010 (the "Insurance Act") was void ab initio and of no legal effect. Please see full Update below for more information.
Grand Court grants leave to enforce a foreign interim arbitration award
On 3 February 2023 the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands delivered a judgment in the matter of Nasser Sulaiman HM Al Haidar v Jetty Venkata Uma Mahewshawara Rao (FSD 328 OF 2022 (IKJ)) explaining its decision to grant leave to enforce an interim award made in the course of a foreign arbitration. Whilst the application was made ex parte, and dealt with on the papers without an oral hearing, Kawaley J nevertheless issued a full ruling setting out his reasons for the decision, there having been no published Cayman Islands case dealing with the enforceability of interim awards. The Court reiterated that the general approach of the Court to arbitral awards was pro-enforcement in keeping with the policy underlying the New York Convention, the expectation being that the majority of applications for leave to enforce would be straightforward and that the limited grounds upon which enforcement might be refused would be construed narrowly. Please see full Alert below for more information.
Tales from the Oriente: the first appointment of restructuring officers in the Cayman Islands
The Company is the parent company of a group (the "Group") which operates a leading financial technology platform providing alternative sources of credit to traditional retail banks for the unbanked and underbanked population of Southeast Asia, with more than 8 million registered users. The Group's performance was significantly affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Southeast Asian economy and the platforms' users, which resulted in a substantial increase in non-performing (consumer) loans, as well as other factors impacting the global capital markets and investor community including, but not limited to, US-China tensions, the Russia-Ukraine war and interest rate increases by central banks. Please see full Alert below for more information.
Home Thoughts, From Abroad - Restructuring Recognition (and Recognition of Restructuring)
Where a company’s liquidation is necessary, deciding who or where is best placed to administer an orderly wind down for the benefit of creditors can be difficult: the shortfall of assets in an insolvency will highlight jurisdictional differences in approach as to questions of priority, frequently territorial rather than universalist. Please see full Advisory below for more information.
Updated Procedures for De-Registration of Cayman Islands Mutual Funds and Private Funds
On 17 August 2022, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”) published a set of new regulatory measures in connection with the de-registration of mutual funds and private funds (the “Procedures”) as regulated funds in the Cayman Islands. The revised Procedures represent the outcome of a consultation process that CIMA has undertaken in order to simplify and standardise the de-registration process for regulated funds, so that mutual funds and private funds can terminate their registrations on a consistent basis. Please see full Article below for more information.
Cayman Islands: When are relevant documents in the “power” of a litigant and therefore discoverable?
Under Order 24, rule 1 of the Grand Court Rules (“GCR”), a party is required to give discovery of “documents which are or have been in his possession, custody or power”. Given the importance of “power” to determine - and potentially significantly to expand - the scope of a party’s discovery obligations, it is perhaps surprising that there has, until recently, been a dearth of Cayman Islands case law regarding this aspect of GCR O.24, r.1. Practitioners will no doubt therefore welcome the elucidation of the test for establishing “power” now provided in two separate (unreported) decisions of the Grand Court, in (1) Abdulhameed Dhia Jafar v Abraaj Holdings and others (19 July 2022; Cause Nos: FSD 150, 158 and 203 of 2020); and (2) In the Matter of Investar General Partner Limited and others (27 July 2022; Cause Nos: FSD 146, 147, 148 and 196 of 2018). Please see full Article below for more information.
Chambers Global Aviation Finance & Leasing Guide 2022: Cayman Islands
In the 2022 Chambers and Partners Global Aviation Finance & Leasing Guide for the Cayman Islands, our aviation experts provide a comprehensive overview of the latest legal information regarding aircraft and engine purchase and sale, aircraft and engine leasing and aircraft debt finance. Please see full Article below for more information.
Grand Court warns investment managers that indemnity costs will loom large should they contest the identity of official liquidators in solvent liquidations
Overview - In a recent decision of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the "Court") concerning a supervision order in respect of a Cayman company in voluntary liquidation, Kawaley J considered the settled principles in a solvent Cayman Islands liquidation involving a dispute as to the identity of the official liquidators to be appointed. Please see full Article below for more information.
Appointing liquidators in the Cayman Islands
Executive Summary - Where multiple Cayman Islands entities in the same corporate structure become subject to insolvency proceedings (e.g. Cayman Islands master/ feeder fund structures), the Cayman Islands Courts will typically seek to appoint the same liquidators at each level where such entities share similarities in circumstances. Doing so typically aligns with the Overriding Objective of the Court to deal with matters economically and efficiently, and in the context of a liquidation, helps protect the interests of stakeholders in the liquidation. That said, certain circumstances may call for the appointment of different office holders at different levels of the structure or even at the same level. Please see full Publication below for more information.
Walkers’ Guide to Token Issuances, DAOs and Foundation Companies in the Cayman Islands
Roadmap - As a starting point it is helpful to outline a roadmap of how a new blockchain based project might develop. It is important to stress that no two projects will ever have the same objectives. As such, there is no ‘cookie cutter’ approach that can be applied. Each project will be unique and a bespoke approach must be determined. Accordingly, the roadmap set out below is intended to provide a general overview for informational and discussion purposes Please see full Publication below for more information.