James Ayliffe QC

International & Offshore CV

Much of James's work has international, off-shore or cross-border elements. Recent cases have involved jurisdictions as diverse as the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, BVI, Ukraine, Cyprus, United States and South Africa.

Some representative matters include:

• acting on dispute between Russian joint venture partners regarding their BVI corporate joint venture vehicle;
• advising the tax authorities of a major sovereign state regarding proceedings for recovery of hundreds of millions of pounds of tax from assets transferred into off-shore tax havens by its largest tax creditor;
• acting for defendant to US$30m claim by Cayman- and Netherlands Antilles-based hedge fund vehicles;
• advising Jersey financial regulator regarding responsibility of overseas firms operating through serviced offices and other facilities in Jersey;
• acting for trustees of offshore unit trusts regarding scope for enforcement action by UK authorities;
• advising in relation to two separate disputes involving "oligarchs" from the former Soviet Union with extensive international elements;
• advising settlor regarding avoidance of Bermudan trust on grounds of mistake.

James is a member of the Bar of the British Virgin Islands.