The Tribune

Almost 140 persons attended a recent insolvency conference staged in The Bahamas by local and international bodies.

The Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists Association (Bahamas) teamed with INSOL International to hold an event attended by 138 delegates from The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hong Kong, Turks & Caicos, the UK and the US.

The insolvency and restructuring summit, which focused on key cases and issues faced by international financial centres (IFCs), was sponsored by multiple Bahamian law and accounting firms including Ernst & Young (EY), Lennox Paton, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), McKinney Bancroft & Hughes, Deloitte & Touche, Graham Thompson & Company and Higgs & Johnson.

The keynote speaker was Judge Kevin Carey, formerly of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, who was responsible for dismissing Baha Mar's Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings. He addressed the topic, Recent trends in cross-border insolvencies.

Bahamian Supreme Court justice, Ian Winder, spoke on the panel, Cross-border forum shopping - where should I seek recognition? The panel discussed recent decisions relating to so-called "clawback" claims and the obstacles involved in bringing them, while addressing the powers and remedies available to office holders in each jurisdiction.

The panel reviewed the latest Caribbean developments on forum shopping and moving the debtor's centre of main interests (COMI), the latest case law and the introduction of the economic substance tests for certain companies in the Cayman Islands, BVI and The Bahamas and how this will impact the ability to COMI-shift.

Another panel featured panellists from the US, Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), together with Brian Simms QC from Lennox Paton, who spoke on where persons stand the best chance of recovering value for stakeholders. A final group discussion, Departure from the old, dawn of the new?, considered the proposed modernisation of insolvency laws in various jurisdictions.

The conference closed with a Judge's Panel, which focused on how attorneys, insolvency practitioners and the courts can be more effective in insolvency proceedings. It consisted of Justice Indra Charles of the Supreme Court; Justice Neville Adderley (former Justice of Appeal); Justice Barry Leon (formerly of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, BVI); Justice Robin McMillan of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands; and Chief Justice Brian Moree QC of the Supreme Court.