Karel's Legal Blog

Restoring confidence is key
Recently, the Dutch government acquired all shares in the capital of the Dutch subsidiary of Fortis, i.e. Fortis Bank Nederland, including ABN AMRO Bank.
Furthermore, the Dutch government has set aside $27.5 billion of capital to protect the financial institutions of the Netherlands. Although there are many banks that have enough capital to [...]

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Who is to blame for the current crisis?
Massive borrowing, hedge funds, credit default swaps (CDSs), collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other instruments seem to be part of the current trillion dollar problem. What was known about these instruments and the risks attached to them in the recent past? There was actually quite a lot known right from the start.
A must [...]

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Central Bank monitors compliance
The regulatory rules and regulations in the Netherlands Antilles deal with credit institutions, investment institutions and administrators, insurers and insurance brokers, company pension funds, trust service providers, capital markets, anti-money laundering and identification, and foreign exchange control and license fees.
The Netherlands Antilles have one regulator: the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles [...]

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Curacao is again ranked #1
According to the 2008 Global Custodian Hedge Fund Administration Survey, Curacao (Dutch Caribbean) is the # 1 location for hedge fund administration services. Curacao outperformed Singapore, Dublin, Toronto, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Amsterdam and the Cayman Islands, to name just a few.
Curacao is known for its excellent legal and tax infrastructure, high quality [...]

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Are credit default swaps insurance products?
The National Ordinance on the supervision of the Insurance Business (“NOSI”) does not contain a definition of ‘insurance agreement’. Under Netherlands Antilles law the definition contained in article 315 of the Netherlands Antilles Commercial Code is usually used, which informally translated reads as follows:

“Insurance is an agreement whereby an insurer [...]

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Holding companies are not investing
An investment company (NV or BV) is a company that raises or obtains pecuniary means or other property to be used for collective investment with the objective of allowing the participants to benefit from the revenues of those investments.
The Netherlands Antilles National Ordinance on the Supervision of Investment Institutions and Administrators [...]

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Curacao provides a favorable climate for hedge funds
Curacao, part of the Netherlands Antilles, currently provides a favorable tax, legal and regulatory climate for hedge funds. A fund vehicle can be established quickly and flexibly. Additionally, the current regulatory regime for the supervision of investment institutions and administrators and the anti-money laundering rules provide comfort for [...]

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A criminal offense
The Netherlands Antilles Ordinance on the Supervision of Stock Exchanges 1998 (‘Landsverordening toezicht effectenbeurzen 1988’) contains a prohibition on insider trading.
Any person who is in possession of inside information is prohibited from carrying out a transaction or being instrumental in a transaction in securities in a company listed on a Netherlands Antilles stock [...]

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