Trust Applications In Jersey - Confidentiality Under Threat

In the recent high-profile case of Tchenguiz v Imerman (an English divorce case in which the wife was seeking financial relief by way of a variation of trusts), the English High Court ordered disclosure of sensitive trust information against the express request of the Jersey Royal Court that it not do so.

The trusts were governed by BVI law, but had a Jersey corporate trustee. The trustee did not submit to the jurisdiction of the English divorce court and applied to the Royal Court for directions. The beneficiaries were convened, and sensitive trust information disclosed to them in those private proceedings.

Certain English resident beneficiaries of the trusts also participated in the English proceedings, and gave undertakings to the English court to disclose documentation they had received in the course of the trustee's Jersey court application. Risking contempt if they refused, they sought and obtained the Jersey court's permission to disclose if ordered to do so