International Law

ATTRACTING FUNDS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

By Karel.Frielink

Attracting funds from the public at large is prohibited

Article 45 of the Netherlands Antilles Ordinance on the Supervision of Banks and Credit Institutions 1994 (?Landsverordening Toezicht Bank- en Kredietwezen 1994?) prohibits anyone to directly or indirectly turn to the public in the Netherlands Antilles with a view to the attracting of funds by anyone other than a credit institution possessing a permit.

This prohibition also applies if certain types of securities were offered, e.g. bonds, in which case an exemption would have to be obtained from the Bank of Netherlands Antilles if moneys are attracted by a party other than a credit institution with a permit.

This prohibition would, in my view, not apply to the offering of shares by a shareholder, as this would appear to qualify as a share sale and purchase transaction rather than the attracting of funds.

The prohibition does not apply to a securities broker who wants to send offering documents to Netherlands Antilles clients who specifically requested the same. Any person in the Netherlands Antilles is free to request offering documents from any party in the world and any such party is free to honor such request.

A securities broker needs to apply for a dispensation, however, if he wishes to regularly approach the public at large in the Netherlands Antilles with respect to the attraction of funds and/or wishes to approach the public at large in the Netherlands Antilles with respect to the attraction of a significant amount of funds.

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on January 28, 2008 (boomark / email).