Twenty Essex has deep experience in commercial chancery, company, commercial litigation and offshore litigation and arbitration for high-net worth individuals, their families, private banks and other advisers and institutional clients (including international banks, funds and trust companies). This covers a range of matters spanning contentious trust and probate issues, undue influence, charitable and family company matters and commercial contract disputes, fraud cases and shareholder disputes. Barristers with specific expertise in this field draw upon their market-leading specialisms in other practice areas such as arbitration, insolvency, fraud and asset tracing.
Several members are admitted to the Bars of the Eastern Caribbean (British Virgin Islands) and the Bars of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Nevis and St Kitts, the Turks and Caicos, Brunei Darussalam, Guernsey and the Isle of Man for specific cases.
Selected credentials
- The Estate of Boris Berezovsky – acting for the trustees of the insolvent estate in relation to various proceedings concerning fraud and entitlement to assets under the control of the trustees.
- The State of Brunei Darussalam v His Royal Highness Prince Jefri Bolkiah – instructed behalf of the State and Government of Brunei Darussalam and the Brunei Investment Agency in worldwide litigation to recover misappropriated State assets.
- Re Gertner; CFL Finance Ltd v Rubin [2017] EWHC 111 (Ch): a significant challenge to a voluntary arrangement proposed by a property tycoon once ranked amongst Britain’s richest individuals – alleged £600 million in debt to 31 creditors.
- Deutsche Bank AG v (1) Sebastian Holdings Inc. (2) Mr Alexander Vik – offshore win for the defendants in the Court of Appeal of the Turks & Caicos Islands, fundamental issues of private international law concerning the recognition of English receivers by way of equitable execution in offshore jurisdictions.
- Locke v (1) CWM (BVI) Limited (2) DMS Bank & Trust Limited – acting for defendant bank in relation to claims made against it for alleged dishonest assistance, negligence and unjust enrichment by investors arising from the alleged fraud.
- Staray Capital Limited v Cha – hearing before the Privy Council in to relation to a long-running dispute under s.184I of the BVI Companies Act (unfair prejudice).
- Capital Partners Securities Co v Sturgeon Central Asia Balanced Fund – successfully represented the fund before the Supreme Court of Bermuda in relation to the dismissal of a winding up petition.
- Renova Industries v Emmerson International Corp – representing the minority investor in BVI proceedings (a Russian Government minister) in proceedings to recover his investment from the other joint-venturer.
- Instructed by Hong Kong and BVI Law firms on behalf of the BVI incorporated fund in relation to a shareholder dispute in which substantive relief was sought against the company itself.
- Appeared in the BVI Commercial Court on US$2.5bn worldwide freezing injunction in support of arbitration.