Free ports enable ultra-high-net-worth individuals to store, trade and transport assets, including artwork, with benefits of security, favorable tax and customs regulations and, often, privacy.
However, free ports cannot mitigate threats to assets when authorities make allegations of misconduct and issue freezing or seizure orders.
With a free port in Dubai under construction, UHNWIs and their advisors should contemplate proactive steps to protect their global portfolios.
Prevailing case law in BVI and Cayman has historically not allowed injunctions to be granted by the offshore courts unless there is an existing claim against the defendant within the jurisdiction of the Court granting the injunction.
Fortunately, that position has changed in the Cayman Islands and now in BVI, with claimants, including those from onshore jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China, able to obtain “free-standing” injunctive relief in both offshore jurisdictions.
With the advent of the new law in BVI, and the continuing willingness of the Cayman Islands’ Courts to make protective orders, victims of fraud are now in a better position than they have ever been to guard against a defendant’s dissipation of its offshore assets whilst they are waiting for a judgment.
