Noteworthy expertise across a range of offshore work including trusts, insolvency, civil fraud, restructuring and commercial cases.

- Chambers & Partners UK Bar (2022)

Offshore

3VB has an ever growing presence in the offshore market and members at all levels are regularly instructed to appear in leading cases within a number of different areas in multiple jurisdictions.

Chambers is ranked as a leading set for Offshore work by the legal directories, including being recognised by the Legal 500 UK Bar Guide as having a “growing presence as a leading set in the offshore market”, being a “quality set, through and through” for Offshore work and having “an enviable roster of both leading and junior counsel”.

3VB’s members continue to offer noteworthy expertise across a range of high profile and complex offshore work, including in the following areas: banking & finance; civil fraud; commercial disputes; insolvency & restructuring; insurance & reinsurance; and trusts. Our members are also experienced in dealing with extensive interlocutory applications in offshore jurisdictions for: freezing and disclosure orders; search and seizure orders; and other forms of injunctive relief (including stop orders and proprietary injunctions).

Members at all levels are called, on an annual or ad hoc basis, before the courts in the following jurisdictions: Bahamas, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey and Singapore.

In addition, members of 3VB at all levels are regularly instructed to act in courts established in specialist ‘free zones’ within particular jurisdictions, including the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Abu Dhabi International Financial Centre (ADGM) and Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

Highlights of 3VB’s recent and ongoing work in these jurisdictions include:

  • Von Der Heyt Invest SA v Multibank FX International Corporation BVIHCMAP 2022/0001, 2022/0024, 2022/0003, 2022/0032, 2022/0009, 2022/0023, 2022/0031 (a claim concerning a noteholder dispute involving various jurisdictions (including the BVI, Luxembourg and Dubai), where it is alleged that the MultiBank Group fraudulently misappropriated EUR 35m of noteholder funds).
  • Soemarli Lie v Ng Min Hong & Ors BVIHC (Com) 2020/147 (a value minority shareholder dispute arising out a major Indonesian palm oil business with a BVI holding company).
  • Nam Thai Property Inc v IsZo Capital LP & Ors BVIHCMAP No. 2021/0010 [2021] ADGMCFI 0006 (a claim concerning the legality of Nam Thai’s placement of newly issued shares for c.US$170m, following a shareholders’ requisition seeking the removal of the majority of Nam Thai’s directors).
  • NMC Healthcare Limited v Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC and Noor Bank PJSC [2021] ADGMCFI 0006 (the NMC Healthcare group is the largest private healthcare provider in the Middle East, which collapsed into insolvent administration in September 2020 and is alleged to have been the subject of a massive fraud by its founder).
  • Medlands v Commissioner of the Bermuda Police [2020] SC (Bda) 20 Civ (a judicial review of the Bermudian Police Service in relation to an independent review of documents seized under search warrants).
  • St John’s Trust Company (PVT) Limited v Watlington [2020] SC (Bda) 51 Civ (a dispute over a Bermudan trust with assets of c.US$6 billion in the context of the largest DoJ tax investigation).
  • Emirates NBD Bank PJSC & Ors v KBBO CPG Investments CPG & Ors [2020] DIFC 045 (a claim brought by a syndicate of 10 regional and international banks against 19 defendants to recover US$300 million advanced as restructuring loans).
  • Childescu v Gheorgiu & Ors [2020] DIFC CFI 032 (a claim to recover real estate and the proceeds of sale of a yacht where it was alleged that the assets were misappropriated and held on trust).
  • Chad Holm & Anor v Sancus Financial Holdings Ltd & Ors BVIHCMAP2019/0002 (a dispute over the ownership of the newest bank to be licensed in the BVI for the last 20 years).
  • Rafed Al Khorafi & Ors v Bank Sarasin & Ors [2015] DIFC CA 003; [2018] DIFC CA 010 (the largest claim ever dealt with in the DIFC Courts, where former clients of the bank alleged deceit or misrepresentation said to have induced deposits or investments with the bank in the Gulf region, which is also alleged to have acted in breach of financial services regulation).
Winner: UK Bar Awards 2023
The Lawyer Awards 2022: Chambers of the Year