Some months ago, we have discussed the case of bankruptcy of deceased stockbroker Rene Rivkin, which was connected with his affairs in the UK and in the British Virgin Islands. The BVI company called Derata was named as the sole director of Jersey-based Thameslink wholly owned by Rivkin. Rivkin’s bankruptcy trustee planned to recover millions of dollars from Jersey bank account. In case of success, the funds were to be distributed to the creditors, the largest of which was the Australian Taxation Office.
Last week, the Swiss lawyer Benno Hafner, who represented Rene Rivkin, launched a legal bid to stop the investigation into Rivkin’s assets. He is believed to have the purpose to prevent Rivkin’s bankruptcy trustee from gaining access to bank records held by a British financial institution and related to Rivkin’s business deals.
The bankruptcy trustee Anthony Warner from Sydney-based CRS Warner Kugel, in his turn, is attempting to obtain the documents concerning Rivkin’s business interests in the jurisdictions other than Australia and Switzerland – that is the UK and the British Virgin Islands. In Federal Court proceedings in Australia, Mr Warner has already uncovered $3 million probably hidden in a Virgin Islands trust linked to Rivkin.
Rivkin’s estate was placed into bankruptcy last year, with $29 million owed to the tax office (later on the bill educed to $20 million). His family co-operates with Mr Warner to recover funds believed to be held in offshore jurisdictions including BVI, by companies ultimately owned by Rivkin.