IBA Annual Conference Sydney 2017
8 Oct - 13 Oct 2017
Room C4.10, Convention Centre, Level 4
Session information
Offshore structures as a barrier to recovery of assets from criminals
Tuesday 10 October (0930 - 1230)
Room C4.10, Convention Centre, Level 4
Committee(s)
Anti-Corruption Committee
(Lead)
Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee
Business Crime Committee
Private Client Tax Committee
Professional Ethics Committee
Description
The misuse of legal structures to conceal crime proceeds and assets of criminals has been in the news for the past few years, leading notably to the adoption of beneficial ownership registers by several countries. However, the adoption of such registers may have the unwanted effect of weakening some asset recovery tools. There have also been case law developments that may make trusts an obstacle to recovery of assets that are not crime proceeds. This session will be divided into two parts: The first part will explore the question of whether beneficial ownership registers facilitate or hinder asset recovery. The second part will discuss recent case law, according to which a discretionary trust may be a safe shield against the enforcement of criminal confiscation and civil asset recovery orders.
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
| Stephen Baker | Baker & Partners, St Helier, Jersey; Senior Vice Chair, Asset Recovery Subcommittee |
| Yves Klein | Monfrini Bitton Klein, Geneva, Switzerland; Chair, Asset Recovery Subcommittee |
| David St John OMahony | 7 Bedford Row Chambers, London, England |
Speakers
| Andrew Bodnar | Burford Capital, London, England |
| Edward Davis | Sequor Law, Miami, Florida, USA; North America Regional Officer, Anti-Corruption Committee |
| Gordon Philip Hook | Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Gary Hughes | Britomart Chambers, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Jeremy Johnson | Wynn Williams, Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Jitka Logesova | WOLF THEISS Rechtsanwälte GmbH & Co KG, Prague, Czech Republic; Vice Chair, Anti-Corruption Committee |
| Alessandra Nascimento S F Mourao | Nascimento e Mourao Advogados, São Paulo, Brazil; Member, Professional Ethics Committee Advisory Board |
| Michael O'Meara | Sixth Floor Chambers, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Dominic O'Sullivan | Gerard Brennan Chambers, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Duncan Osborne | Osborne, Helman, Scott, Knisely & Stanton, LLP, Austin, Texas, USA |
| Anthony Whealy KC | Transparency International, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |