Claimants All At Sea After Lost Anchor

This week, the British Virgin Islands ("BVI") Commercial Court has published its long-awaited judgment in Joint Stock Company "BTA Bank" v Timur Sabyrbaev and Ors, providing helpful clarity on issues concerning extra-territorial service, and the use of 'Anchor Defendants' to establish the BVI as the appropriate forum within which to bring a claim.

The judgment is the latest in the global Ablyazov litigation, whereby BTA Bank ("BTA") of Kazakhstan, issued a claim against 54 Defendants. Eight of those Defendants responded to the claim by challenging service and forum.

Among the Defendants are two entities which sit within the ADM Group (referred to as the "ADM Defendants"), for whom Matthew Freeman and Scott Tolliss, of the Maples Group's BVI office, act.