Christopher PeaseCo-head of Litigation, Insolvency and Restructuring team in the British Virgin Islands at HarneysSpeaker
Profile
Christopher Pease is co-head of Harneys' Litigation, Insolvency and Restructuring team in the British Virgin Islands. A specialist in fraud and asset recovery, Chris has extensive experience tracing and recovering assets in complex, multi-jurisdictional matters involving fraud, bribery, and other wrongdoing. His asset recovery practice encompasses obtaining pre-action disclosure orders, bringing equitable and tortious claims, enforcing foreign judgments and arbitral awards, and preserving assets through injunctions and receivership orders.
Chris has developed a leading reputation in digital asset recovery in the BVI. He obtained the first judgment in the jurisdiction relating to the tracing and preservation of digital assets — secured against persons unknown — which ultimately led to the recovery of millions of US dollars' worth of cryptocurrency that had been laundered through a mixer. That landmark decision has paved the way for many similar recovery actions since. His broader digital assets work includes crypto tracing (notably ChainSwap), liquidations and receiverships of decentralised protocols (including Hector DAO), token disputes, and arbitrations.
Chris regularly advises on liquidation and receivership proceedings, which frequently serve as a critical adjunct to his asset recovery work. He acts on behalf of court-appointed liquidators and receivers in obtaining information, pursuing claw-back claims, and addressing wrongdoing by former management. His wider practice covers enforcement, contractual disputes, and corporate and shareholder disputes.
Before relocating to the BVI in 2017, Chris practised as a solicitor in London for more than ten years, initially at a US firm specialising in fraud and asset recovery before moving to Linklaters, where he advised accounting firms, banks, and private equity funds on a broad range of disputes and investigations. He is ranked by Chambers and Partners for Dispute Resolution in the BVI.