Richard Brown
Partner
Richard is a partner practising BVI law from Carey Olsen’s London office. Richard's practise encompasses all aspects of BVI commercial disputes, but with a focus on insolvency, fraud and asset recovery, shareholder disputes and contentious trust matters. Richard is also able to advise clients facing investigations by the BVI's International Tax Authority and other contentious regulatory matters.
Richard has particular experience of cases which raise complex jurisdictional issues and where proceedings are on foot in several jurisdictions. He regularly obtains interlocutory relief such as freezing injunctions, and also assists clients in resisting and overturning such orders. .
Richard's location in London enables him to advise clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from a convenient time zone, and he works closely with the BVI-based litigation team to provide a seamless service to clients.
Richard has a track record of successfully representing clients before the BVI Commercial Court and the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, and where appropriate negotiating favourable settlements to avoid litigation. He is ranked as a leading BVI lawyer in Legal500, Chambers & Partners, GRR and Who's Who Legal (Asset Recovery).
Examples of Richard's recent cases include:
- Acting for a Ukrainian businessman in BVI proceedings relating to an alleged banking fraud. Succeeded in having the claim struck out on jurisdictional grounds at first instance and on appeal, on the basis that the claimant had no standing to bring the claim and alternatively that Ukraine, and not BVI, was the appropriate forum for the claim. The claim is subject to an appeal to the Privy Council which will determine (for the first time) the impact of armed conflict on questions relating to the availability of a foreign forum.
- Acting for a Cypriot company in proceedings relating to the enforcement of a judgment by way of the appointment of receivers over BVI assets indirectly owned by the judgment debtor. Successfully argued on appeal that the receivership order should be set aside, applying the principles of separate corporate personality. The appeal also concerned issues relating to the impact of sanctions on receiverships and other enforcement remedies (Arrowcrest Limited v JSC VTB Bank).
- Acting for a sovereign state in contested proceedings to enforce a number of English judgments in the BVI.
- Acting for the Federal Republic of Nigeria in BVI proceedings to recover a private jet said to have been acquired with the proceeds of a $1 billion dollar fraud.
- Acting for a Formula E racing team in BVI insolvency proceedings to recover monies owed to it by a failed crypto-currency issuer.
- Acting for the liquidators of Exential Investments Inc, which was involved in a substantial Ponzi scheme in the UAE, leaving 1000s of investors out of pocket. Obtained the first reasoned judgment from the BVI Commercial Court approving a third party funding arrangement to enable investigations and recovery proceedings
- Acting for the UK administrators of an English FCA-regulated entity pursuing losses of c. US$250 million from a BVI company, successfully appointing liquidators in the BVI and advising on recovery strategies.
- Successfully applying to set aside an injunction obtained by a Middle-Eastern bank against a BVI company, and resisting the bank's subsequent appeal.
- Acting for a private equity house in BVI proceedings relating to a dispute over its contractual entitlement to a share of substantial distributions paid by a company in which it had invested. Following a three week Commercial Court trial, the Court entered judgment in favour of the client and made a substantial damages award in its favour.
Career
Richard started his career with Hogan Lovells in London, where he practised for eight years prior to moving to the BVI in 2013. Richard gained his higher rights of audience in the English Courts in 2010 and was admitted as a solicitor advocate in the BVI in 2013. Between 2015 and 2017, Richard worked for Carey Olsen in Jersey. Richard was admitted as a registered associate of the Bermuda bar in 2023.
He is a member of R3, INSOL and the Commercial Fraud Lawyers' Association.