THE CREDIT CRUNCH, THE ECONOMIC RECESSION AND MAJOR FRAUDS SCHEMES
Lawyers are having a heyday
Many countries, companies and private individuals are suffering severely from the credit crunch, the economic recession and the various fraud schemes (Madoff, Stanford, Enron, etc.). However, what causes misery to some represents opportunity to others, in this case, the lawyers.
The financial meltdown, for instance, has resulted in governments interfering in financial institutions, people being sacked, and litigation. Securities fraud results in litigation. It seems like a lawyers’ paradise, however let’s not forget that many lawyers are feeling the impact of the crisis as severely as everyone else.
It is however fair to say that …
Read the rest »
PLC CROSS BORDER LAW FIRM RECOMMENDATIONS
Netherlands Antilles
According to PLC Cross Border (Which lawyer?), Spigthoff Attorneys & Tax Advisers is one of two firms dominating the Netherlands Antilles market for international work, both on- and offshore.
Spigthoff ranks high in corporate / M&A and dispute resolution.
Martijn Welten, who specialises in corporate law, mergers & aquisitions and corporate litigation, is (highly) recommended in the areas of dispute resolution and corporate/M&A.
Karel Frielink comes recommended in the area of high net-worth private clients. Karel is highly recommended in the areas of …
Read the rest »
RIGHT OF SET-OFF UNDER DUTCH CARIBBEAN LAW
One of the most modern regimes in the world
The legal concept of set-off may be defined as setting cross-claims off against each other to produce a single balance. For instance, if A were to have a claim against B for a sum of money, and B would have a cross-claim against A for a sum of money, then B is entitled to be absolved from payment of A’s claim to the extent of his cross-claim and is also entitled to use his cross-claim in pleadings as a defense in an action by A to enforce his claim.
Set-off functions …
Read the rest »
BANKRUPTCY AND INTEREST CLAIMS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Bankruptcy vs non-bankruptcy claims
There are special statutory provisions regarding agreed interest rates, for instance, in a contract between the creditor and a party who subsequently goes bankrupt, during a bankruptcy (faillissement) and moratorium on payements (surseance van betaling). It is explicitly stated in the Netherlands Antilles Bankruptcy Decree (Faillissementsbesluit 1931) that only the interest accumulated prior to a pronunciation of bankruptcy may be paid from the bankruptcy assets (faillissementsboedel). In the event of a moratorium on payments a similar provision exists.
Bankruptcy does not mean that the bankrupt party ceases to be a debtor of non-verifiable claims. If at …
Read the rest »
TEXAS BILLIONAIRE ALLEN STANFORD ACCUSED OF FRAUD
Stanford fraud charges tricker panic
Fraud charges laid against Allen Stanford sparked panic across the Caribbean. Stanford and his companies, among them Stanford International Bank Ltd. (a private offshore investment bank in Antigua), Stanford Group Co. and Stanford Capital Management LLC are subject to a fraud inquiry.
According to The Daily Herald “The ripple effects of the “massive ongoing fraud” charges against Texan billionaire Allen Stanford are seeping into the Netherlands Antilles where several people and businesses have invested in Stanford International Bank.” Victims in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba may contact the …
Read the rest »
THE DISMANTLING OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Info Bulletin Dismantling available
The country The Netherlands Antilles (‘het Land de Nederlandse Antillen’) will cease to exist, presumably in 2010. Like Aruba, although slightly different, Curacao and St. Maarten will receive the status of autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in accordance with referendums held on both islands. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will each receive the status of Dutch municipality (a.k.a. Kingdom Island).
The Ministry of Constitutional and Interior Affairs has published a number of info bulletins on the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles:
A DUTCH CARIBBEAN BUSINESS LICENSE
License required
According to the Netherlands Antilles Ordinance on the Establishment of a Business (Landsverordening betreffende vestiging van ondernemingen, PB 1946 nr. 43), a license is required to establish a company (vestigingsvergunning) as well as one to operate a company as an individual director who is not a “citizen” (directievergunning).
According to the published policy of the Department of Economic Affairs (Dienst Economische Zaken) that is responsible for the enforcement of the Ordinance, a “citizen” is a natural person who is born in the Netherlands Antilles, or one of whose parents was born in the Netherlands Antilles or someone who …
Read the rest »