EMERGENCY MEASURES FOR CREDIT INSTITUTIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
The Central Bank has certain regulatory powers
Not all banks perform well. Sometimes things go wrong. In the Netherlands Antilles the Central Bank has certain powers to take over control, if necessary. The Central Bank may request the Court of First Instance to subject a bank (credit institution) to the emergency measure pursuant to Article 28 of the National Ordinance on the Supervision of Banking and Credit Institutions 1994.
The court may authorize the Central Bank to transfer all or part of the obligations of the credit institution and to partially or entirely liquidate the credit institution. The authorization shall …
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MAY LAWYERS SEARCH FOR METADATA IN DOCUMENTS RECEIVED FROM OPPOSING COUNSEL?
A lawyer may ethically review a document for metadata
Lawyers frequently send and receive documents or computer files in electronic form. An electronic document typically includes data that may or may not be visible when viewing the document on the computer screen or as printed out, e.g. the original author’s name, the creation date of the document, and the amount of time spent editing it. These hidden data are called “metadata”.
Legal Blog Watcher Robert J. Ambrogi discusses the question whether it is ethical to search for metadata in a document you receive from …
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HARRY POTTER AND THE BATTLE OVER COPYRIGHT LAWS
Can the author come up with a legal spell to prevent the publishing of a HP encyclopedia?
J.K. Rowling is the renowned author of the famous fantasy books about the life of wizardry student Harry Potter. Since the release of the first book in 1997, the series have gained huge popularity worldwide. The books have spawned a series of Potter movies, Potter video games and themed merchandise. The commercial success of the Potter brand has made Rowling one of the highest-earning authors in history. Like with many popular and commercially successful products, there are …
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WHO OWNS THE MOON?
No one does actually
You may have heard about people selling parts of the moon: they claim that you can become co-owner of moon lots for about US$ 40 per acre.
However, in my opinion, the moon belongs to no one, period! No state or government can claim ownership and neither can an individual. To state that it is mankind’s heritage and that ‘mankind’ could claim ownership is ridiculous and even arrogant: it would be a kind of colonialism. The same applies to other celestial bodies and, in fact, to the whole universe.
On the other hand, …
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TRUST COMPANIES IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Rendering trust services without a license is prohibited
Many international group structures include one or more Dutch Caribbean legal entities or partnerships. The main reasons for this are the internationally competitive conditions for business development in the area of corporate law, the tax system, and the well-developed professional financial services industry of the Netherlands Antilles. Trust companies are involved in setting up and maintaining such structures. On behalf of other enterprises, trust companies conduct the management of ‘international companies’, i.e. companies established in the Netherlands Antilles which, however, on many occasions are (factually) controlled by persons or legal entities from …
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ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
A digital signature has the same legal effect as a hand-written signature
The Ordinance on agreements concluded electronically (‘Landsverordening overeenkomsten langs elektronische weg’) became effective on 1 January 2001.
Trade, financial services and other commercial activities are being conducted electronically at a rapidly growing rate. The Netherlands Antilles was ahead of many countries in developing legislation for this field.
The Ordinance provides that an electronic signature shall have the same legal effect as a hand-written signature, and may be admitted as evidence in legal proceedings. An electronic signature is described as electronic data which are attached to or have a …
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COMPLIANCE IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Curacao considers how the US deals with compliance
Compliance is essentially about systems and procedures at corporations, banks, funds, trust offices, insurance companies and the like, to ensure that their officers and employees are aware of and take steps to comply with the relevant laws and regulations. It is also referred to as ‘regulatory compliance’. Compliance is nowadays, in the aftermath of, Enron, for example, which collapsed in 2001, of the utmost importance. I will briefly discuss several compliance related issues below, however one should keep in mind that the concept of compliance is extremely broad.
The …
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FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
The ultimate recourse against a person not paying his debts
The bankruptcy order can be applied for either by the debtor or by one or more of its creditors. If the debtor is a company then, pursuant to Article 2:8 par. 4 of the Civil Code, the managing directors do not have the authority to file a petition for bankruptcy of the company without prior authorization thereto from the general meeting, unless otherwise stipulated in the articles of association.
The pre-requisites for issuing an order upon an application for bankruptcy, regardless of whether the application is submitted by the debtor …
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DUTCH CARIBBEAN BUSINESS LICENSES
Citizens versus non-citizens
According to the Netherlands Antilles Ordinance on the Establishment of Businesses (‘Landsverordening betreffende vestiging van ondernemingen’, PB 1946 nr. 43) a license is required to establish a company (‘vestigingsvergunning’). A further license is required to operate one as an individual director if one is not a citizen of the Netherlands Antilles (‘directievergunning’).
According to a policy document published by the Department of Economic Affairs (‘Dienst Economische Zaken’) in Curacao that is responsible for the enforcement of aforementioned Ordinance, a person is considered a citizen of the Netherlands Antilles if born in the Netherlands Antilles, …
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DUTCH CARIBBEAN ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING REGULATIONS (II)
Filing MOT report no blanket protection
A provider of financial services, e.g. a bank, has the obligation under Section 11 of the MOT (National Ordinance Penalization Money Laundering) to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), without delay, any unusual transaction made or proposed. Unusual transactions are described in the Ministerial Decree Indicators Unusual Transactions.
Suspected money-laundering transactions are, e.g., transactions non-typical of a client or transactions where there is otherwise cause to presume that they may relate to money laundering or terrorist financing. Such transactions, including proposed transactions, should be reported. The MOT also allows for permissive filings by …
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DUTCH CARIBBEAN ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING REGULATIONS (I)
An overview
Important Netherlands Antilles anti-money-laundering regulations include the National Ordinance Penalization Money Laundering (‘Landsverordening Strafbaarstelling Witwassen van Geld’, ‘NOML’) which criminalizes money laundering, and the National Ordinance on the Reporting of Unusual Transactions (‘Landsverordening Melding Ongebruikelijke Transacties’, ‘MOT’). The latter requires anybody who offers financial services to report, without delay, any ‘unusual transactions’ to the Financial Intelligence Unit (‘Meldpunt Ongebruikelijke Transacties’).
Non-legislative regulations, such as the Provisions and Guidelines on the Detection and Deterrence of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing for Credit Institutions (‘Guidelines’), issued by the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles are also relevant. These state that …
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PROTECTING ONES ASSETS IN A TAX FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT
Dutch Caribbean as the jurisdiction of choice
There are millions of people around the world who can be called wealthy. Many of them want to protect their wealth, against political instability, for example. To do so they can choose among various jurisdictions.
The Netherlands Antilles (a.k.a. the Dutch Caribbean) is a jurisdiction of choice one should definitely consider. There are several reasons why the Netherlands Antilles is already the favorite jurisdiction for so many people. One reason is that it is part of the Dutch Kingdom, which is known for political stability. The fact that the Dutch Supreme Court in …
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