Key takeaways:

• The Rule introduces a new material layer of corporate governance obligations in the Cayman Islands for regulated entities.
• Regulated entities must establish and maintain a corporate governance framework which provides for sound and prudent management oversight.
• Don’t do nothing! Speak to your Cayman legal or governance advisors without delay.

 Key takeaways:

• Providing listeners with a round up and overview of current energy-sector related sanctions on Russia.
• Understanding whether there is global consensus on the oil price cap and whether it has achieved its objectives.
• Outlining plans for development in the offshore sanctions landscape and how they prohibit the purchase or import of Russian oil and alignment on the price cap coalition rules.
• Understanding the general attitude of offshore regulators in relation to complex corporate structures in the oil and gas sector when involving entities incorporated in their jurisdiction.
• Focussing on Gazprom as Russia’s largest gas producer and outlining the sanctions it now subject to as a group.
• Exploring what constitutes “reasonable due diligence” of structures and understanding the controlling mind or operations of the company, in particular when applying for sanctions licences.

Key takeaways: 

• Regulatory analysis of decentralisation and whether current arrangements can be accurately defined as autonomous so as to escape regulation
• The US approach to the regulation and enforcement of digital assets and client concerns
• Exploring the framework of MiCA

Key takeaways:

• Trends in the digital asset space  
• Global regulatory developments in respect of digital assets and the response from offshore jurisdictions
• The UK Government's recent regulatory position of digital assets and its role in the wider economy

Key Takeaways:

• Outlining and reflecting on, the new UK sanctions on Russia impacting professional and financial services, trust industry restrictions and exemptions and the Overseas Territories’ inclusion to those sanctions.
• Providing an overview of new prohibitions in providing business services and their updates.
• Comparing sanctions imposed by EU, UK, and US on the professional services industry, legal advisory services and trust industry (as at June 2023).
• Examining the impact of sanctions on transactional lawyers, particularly in relation to the provision of legal advisory services on related matters (as at June 2023).
• Discussing the rule of law concerning sanctions and their application to asset movement of designated individuals.

Key takeaways:

• Providing an update and overview of current key trends in sanctions on Russia and the direction of travel at nearly 18 months following the invasion of Ukraine.
• Looking at the change to the landscape of sanctions in the wider legal industry and the pervasive impact it now causes when conducting most international commercial activity.  
• Examining what the authorities have got right, and also what could have been done more effectively, in particular in terms of the complexity of three distinct sanctions regimes: in the US, UK and EU.
• Looking at enforcement initiatives in the US, UK and EU member states – also focusing on Cyprus and the UK Overseas Territories.
• Giving a run down of key sanctions cases before the courts.

Key takeaways

• What should functionaries do when faced with a demand from an authority?   
• What sort of things do authorities request and why?   
• Tips for coordinating investigations with little oversight of activities abroad.
• Differences between the authorities handling of investigations?   
• What is the status of the BVI’s commitment to public UBO registers?
• Overview of the most recent judgment in the CJ EU.

Key takeaways

• Understanding recent developments in India impacting foreign direct investment (FDI) – including looking at restricted sectors.  Focussing on whether the use of companies based in offshore and ‘mid-shore’ jurisdictions actually helps with FDI when structuring transactions – and if so, how. 
• Exploring whether there continues to be any tax "benefit" to structuring through treaty countries such as Cyprus – following the ongoing revisions by India to prevent abuse – and Indian attempts to severely restrict double non-taxation wherever possible.
• Looking at similarities between India and Cyprus in terms of their common law, and contract law, heritage – as well as the perennial ease of use of offshore companies based in the BVI and Cayman Islands and their continued popularity as holding vehicles.
• Finally, an examination of the preferred treatment of Cypriot funds by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as of 2021.

Phil is a leading data protection expert and is a partner in Fieldfisher's leading Privacy, Security and Information law group in London, with experience on both sides of the Atlantic, having previously set up Fieldfisher’s office in Silicon Valley.