Harney Westwood & Riegels

Last year’s judgement of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands in Weaveing Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited (In Liquidation) v Peterson and Ekstrom (“Weavering”) spawned numerous commentaries and advisories which had Fund…more

Further to the series on interim remedies, Global Head of Litigation, Phillip Kite outlines the available options for injunctions in aid of foreign divorce proceedings. This area has expanded in recent years, in particular given…more

The BVI and the Cayman Islands have both been long viewed as attractive and sophisticated jurisdictions for offshore trust and corporate structuring by Asian clients and their professional advisors. The generic flexibility of…more

Over the past decade, Cyprus has successfully attracted foreign investment by offering a tax effective holding company regime. With the introduction of a single European passport for securities, investors can now forum shop for…more

Originally published in ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS - February 2012. Historically, setting up private trusts offshore has been a preferred vehicle for Asia’s wealthy families and individuals to manage their assets as they crave…more

In this update, the Corporate and Commercial department provides a comparison of takeovers and corporate reconstructions in the British Virgin Islands. The comparison examines among other things, the advantages,…more

One of the great attractions of the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) as a jurisdiction for structuring finance transactions is the simple yet thorough security registration regime applicable to BVI companies. For…more

In recent years the Republic of Cyprus (“Cyprus”) has taken great strides in its attempt to develop its hydrocarbon resources. In particular it has concluded a number of bilateral agreements with Egypt, Lebanon…more

It has been almost 3 years since the substantial change to BVI law, brought about by the Black Swan case. Phillip Kite and Claire Robey set out where BVI law now stands in this important area. Prior to 2010 freezing…more

British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) company law usually takes pride in simplifying itself to try and keep the jurisdiction as “user-friendly” as possible for the users of offshore companies. Although in…more

The Cayman Islands legislature recently passed the Patents and Trade Marks Law, 2011 (the “Law”) which repeals and replaces the previous law and introduces some significant changes to patent and trade mark law in…more

Originally published in the Investment Funds multi-jurisdictional guide 2012, Practical Law Company. RETAIL FUNDS 1. What is the structure of the retail funds market? What have been the main trends over the last…more

Group companies with a presence in Cyprus can breathe a sigh of relief in light of the new amendment to the Criminal Code on interest rate ceilings. The applicability to intergroup structures of the interest rate ceiling…more

Harneys Services is advising clients and potential clients that there are new regulations governing the use of restricted company names in the British Virgin Islands. In a notice issued in September 2011, the BVI Financial…more

In Cyprus, the interest rate ceiling, introduced on April 29 2011 by an amendment to the Criminal Code has been increased. Calculated and published by the Central Bank of Cyprus quarterly, the ceiling which was initially…more