December 6, 2023 Nassau, The Bahamas – This past September 2023, GrahamThompson Partner and GTC Corporate Services Limited (GTCCS), Chief Operating Officer (COO) Anastasia Campbell succeeded Herman H. Raspé, of Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler LLP, in New York as Chairperson of the World Services Group. She recently sat down for a Q&A to discuss the role and to share her insights on its significance ...
A registered trademark in the British Virgin Islands is transmissible in the same way as other personal or moveable property. Transmission can be completed by assignment, testamentary disposition, or operation of law. When a trademark is assigned, the owner’s right, title, and interest with respect to the trademark is transferred to the new owner ...
British Virgin Islands entities and structures are frequently used to hold assets located onshore, outside the BVI. Sometimes these assets represent the proceeds of wrong-doing including breach of fiduciary duty, breach of express trust, or pure fraud. The vast majority of the 400,000 active BVI companies on the register tend to be holding companies, holding real property, investments, or shares in other companies including shares in trading companies ...
To contain the spread of COVID-19, the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas (“the Competent Authority”) has extended the state of public emergency to the 31st May, 2020. New regulations have been introduced to minimize spread of the virus while allowing for a phased re-opening of the economy. This update summarizes those measures to date ...
There is no statutory definition or guideline as to who ‘vulnerable clients’ are. As such, for our purposes, vulnerable clients can include (but are not limited to): The elderly (persons over the age of 65). Children (persons under the age of 18). Individuals who are incapacitated. Individuals at risk of physical harm (e.g. in domestic violence scenarios). Pregnant women. Individuals with mental or physical disabilities ...
In December 2019, health officials in Wuhan, China informed the World Health Organization ("WHO") of a strain of "pneumonia" affecting members of its population.1 This "pneumonia" was later identified as a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ("COVID-19"). On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic ...
The Enduring Power of Attorney[1](“EPOA”), is an essential estate planning tool available in The Bahamas that is often overlooked. In the latest Legal Update, GT News & Insights Volume 2, Issue 2, GrahamThompson Partner Theo Burrows and Pupil Attorney Alexandria Newton, discuss the“Enduring Power of Attorney”in a piece that provides comprehensive responses to some of the most frequently asked questions ...
On Monday, 30th March 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable K. Peter Turnquest addressed the House of Assembly to provide an overview of the expected economic fallout in The Bahamas from the Covid-19 pandemic along with some details as to the Government’s proposed stimulus measures to support citizens and businesses alike during this time of uncertainty ...
On March 12, 2020, in view that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a Pandemic, we published a Guide for employer including different scenarios that may occur in the labor aspect. After its publication, the governmental authorities have adopted various measures related to labor matters aimed to prevent the spread of the virus and to secure employment ...
There is no better time than the present to create and implement an estate plan. Having an estate plan means that you have a plan to protect your property and to effectively dispose of itupon your death. You do not want the law to decide who should get you rproperty in the event of your death but that is exactly what would happen if you do not have an estate plan and, in particular, if you die without a Will (dying “intestate”) ...
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the business community is faced with unprecedented threats to their cyber-infrastructure and data. Sensitive data, in particular, will be vulnerable to security breaches as a result of reduced human power under emergency legislation. Moreover, criminal hackers will be looking to capitalize on such vulnerabilities at a time like this ...
The impact of Covid-19 is becoming more prevalent throughout the economic landscape of The Bahamas. Most recently, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, preventative measures involving the closure of non-essential local businesses for a specified duration were introduced by the Government in exercise of its emergency powers. This has had far-reaching effects in the employment sphere ...
In recent weeks, Governments around the world have been grappling with how best to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Bahamas is no exception. To date the Prime Minister has issued two Emergency Orders aimed at ensuring the health and safety of persons within The Bahamas ...
O’Neal Webster hopes that you, your family, your co-workers, and communities are staying healthy and positive during these challenging times. With the surge of the new coronavirus COVID-19 cases around the globe, and now in the Caribbean, all major stakeholders in the British Virgin Islands have taken measures to ensure an efficient and effective transition of business and human resources. We are confident that we will get through this challenge by helping and supporting each other ...
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a Pandemic, which implies that it not only represents a problem for the countries affected by the epidemic, but that all the countries that make up the WHO must start applying preventive and responsive measures in case of increase in cases of this virus. Dominican Republic is no exception ...
BVI government welcomes announcement. Blacklist expands to include 12 jurisdictions.On 18 February 2020, EU Finance Ministers updated the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, upgrading the British Virgin Islands to whitelist status, which designates the country as a fully co-operative tax jurisdiction in line with all of the tax good-governance standards ...
As we enter into a new decade, we cannot over emphasize the importance of protecting your brands. In this digital age, trademarks are becoming more vulnerable to infringement. Mass production and counterfeit products are swamping the market ...
Freezing orders are one of the most important weapons inacourt’s arsenal to prevent parties from disposing of or dissipating assetsto ensure they will be available to satisfy a potential future money judgment. In the British Virgin Islands, the court is empowered to grant a freezing order under the provisions of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Civil Procedure Rules ...
General The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (“SCB’), the independent regulatory body responsible for digital assets and investor protection, has issued the draft Digital Assets and Registered Exchange Bill (“DARE Bill”) for industry consultation. The DARE Bill prescribes the legal requirements for issuance and sale of digital tokens, and the regulation of issuers and those conducting digital asset business in or from The Bahamas ...
Graham Thompson Partner Ryan Pinder authors a comprehensive review of Investment Funds in The Bahamas. Arranged in a Q&A stlyed format to address some of the queries and issues that frequently come up. The review is structured around the components: Fund Formation Fund Investment Regulatory Environment Fund Finance Tax Environment A ...
The Financial Transactions Reporting Act 2018 (FTRA), which was enacted on May 25, 2018, imposed a mandatory requirement on land developers to register with the Compliance Commission (the Commission) ...
(Article is a transcription of a presentation given by L. Ryan Pinder, Parnter, Graham Thompson Attorneys)IntroductionGood morning and welcome to The Bahamas. I trust you will enjoy your stay in our beautiful country. Today I have been asked to speak on the resilience of Caribbean IFC’s, their ability to adapt and survive amidst the many global initiatives over the past two decades and to explore the multitude of ways in which Caribbean IFCs remain relevant and competitive in this era ...
The European Union continues to push out new rules aimed at offshore financial centers. Specifically, the Code of Conduct Group (CCG) within the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council has determined that jurisdictions that fail to satisfy the CCG’s requirement to end “preferential treatment” for non-resident companies are to be deemed ‘non-cooperative’ and effectively blacklisted ...
The Bahamas has passed legislation requiring that certain legal entities carrying on relevant activities have to demonstrate adequate economic substance in said jurisdiction. The beneficial owners of any company or limited partnership incorporated, registered or continued in The Bahamas should be aware of this legislation and consider how they may be affected. The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2018 (“CESRA”) came into force on December 31st, 2018 ...
