Jersey Unreported Judgments

2002/21

royal court

(Samedi Division)

23^rd January, 2002

IN THE MATTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY

OF FIRST INTERNATIONAL BANK OF GRENADA LTD (F.I.B.G.)

Representation of Marcus A. Wide, a  director of Price Waterhouse (W.I.) Inc, appointed Liquidator  of F.I.B.G, by the Supreme Court of Grenada and West Indies Associated States, requesting the Royal Court to provide assistance to the Liquidator and to the Supreme Court of Grenada and the West Indies Associated States.

Advocate M.H.D. Taylor for the Representor.

judgment

the bailiff:  

1.        This is an application by Marcus Wide of Price Waterhouse Coopers (W.I.) Inc, to whom we refer to as "the Liquidator", seeking the assistance of this Court in relation to the liquidation of First International Bank of Grenada Limited, to which we refer as "the Bank".

2.        The Bank was incorporated in Grenada, and was placed in liquidation by Order of the Supreme Court of Grenada and the West Indies Associated States on 2^nd March, 2001.   The Liquidator has obtained an Order of the Grenada Court authorising this application for the assistance of the Court.

3.        Article 48 of the Bankruptcy Désastre (Jersey) Law 1990, contains statutory provisions governing requests by foreign courts, but that is of no assistance in this case.   The Article is applicable only to designated countries and territories, and Grenada has not been so designated.  It is therefore a matter for the discretion of the Court.

4.        As the learned authors of Dessain and Wilkins' Jersey Insolvency Law in Practice (2^nd Ed'n, 2001), state at page 124,

"There have been many instances of external liquidators and receivers being permitted to exercise authority over assets based in Jersey following a foreign insolvency or winding up."

5.          We take judicial notice of those instances which are consonant with the principles of comity upon which the Court has generally acted in relation to requests from the courts of friendly foreign states.

6.        It appears from the investigation thus far undertaken by the Liquidator that the Bank opened accounts at Standard Chartered Bank (C.I.) Limited in Jersey in, or about, April 2000.  The Liquidator wishes to gain further information and documentation in relation to those accounts in order to trace funds that belong to the Bank.

7.        There has been placed before us by Counsel an affidavit sworn by Leslie Ann Seon, an Attorney at Law in Grenada, deposing that in her opinion the courts in Grenada would recognise and act upon similar requests from the courts of this jurisdiction.

8.        Notice of the application has been given to the Viscount's Department, and the Senior Administrator of the Désastre section has informed us that she has no observations upon the application.   We note that in an Unreported Judgement of 17^th January, 2000, the Court gave assistance in similar circumstances to a Swiss trustee in bankruptcy following the representation of Urs Burgi.

9.        We can see no reason why, in the exercise of our discretion, we should not grant assistance to the Liquidator.   We note the undertakings made by him to pay the reasonable costs of the witnesses in complying with this order in addition to the reasonable costs of the Judicial Greffier, should it be necessary to conduct a hearing, and not without the leave of the Court, to use any documentation or information, other than for the purposes of liquidation proceedings in Grenada.

10.      We accordingly grant the prayer of the Representation, and make the orders sought.

Authorities

Dessain and Wilkins: Jersey Insolvency Law in Practice (2^nd Ed'n: 2001): p.124.

Representation of Urs Burgi (17^th January, 2000) Jersey Unreported.