BVI Court Provides Welcome Clarification On Appointing Receivers

Walkers successfully represented the appellant in a recent BVI appeal, in which the Court of Appeal overturned the decision to appoint a receiver over a BVI company owned by the appellant.

The appeal arose out of a dispute between beneficiaries of the estate of a deceased Russian businessman and subsequent wide ranging litigation in Russia and Switzerland. The respondents had sought to have a receiver appointed over the assets of the appellant's BVI company, Grantway, in support of the Swiss proceedings and to prevent the appellant from enforcing a judgment against them in Russia.

In their written reasons, the Court of Appeal held that there was "no solid evidence showing a real risk of dissipation" and said the evidence did not reach the required threshold for the appointment of a receiver. Even if there were such a risk, the Court held that the respondents should have sought relief in Russia, where the parties and assets were located, or applied for a