Enforcement of decisions abroad and crypto assets: the trust approach described by a representative of the UNBA
The combination of Ukrainian civil and enforcement legislation with fiduciary models of English and Scottish law could be a practical way to protect the rights of creditors in cases where assets are located in a digital environment and outside Ukraine.
This position was voiced during the international conference «Bridges of justice: cross-border enforcement of court decisions» by the chairman of the UNBA Committee on enforcement of decisions, UNBA representative in Scotland and the United Kingdom Oleksandr Chernykh.
In his report “Cross-border enforcement of judgments and virtual assets: trust models in the legal regulation of Ukraine, England and Scotland», he proposed a concept of combining Ukrainian enforcement procedures with the institutions of English and Scottish trust law as a tool for preserving, administering, and realizing virtual assets in cross-border cases.
O. Chernykh noted that Ukraine effectively lacks the technical and legal mechanisms for full-fledged interaction with international VASPs/CASPs (providers of services related to digital assets). The absence of the Law «On virtual assets» (it has not yet entered into force) makes it impossible to enforce virtual assets in enforcement proceedings. Among the problems, he also mentioned the inability to properly formalize evidence obtained in the blockchain environment, the lack of internationally recognized status of private enforcement agents, and the lack of regulation of the procedure for seizing and selling digital assets.
As one of the practical options for resolving these issues, the UNBA representative described the algorithm for using special trust structures in the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. According to him, this approach allows overcoming jurisdictional barriers during the search and seizure of assets controlled by foreign VASPs/CASPs, as well as realizing them in compliance with AML/KYC, FATF standards, and the requirements of the UK regulatory and compliance environment (in particular, HMRC and the National Crime Agency).
The proposed model provides for the creation of a separate trust for each enforcement proceeding, with the role of a Ukrainian private enforcement agent as the founder and/or protector of the trust, which controls the use and movement of assets.
Separately, O. Chernykh presented the concept of a specialized foreign provider of such trusts, which is currently being created in the UK jurisdiction. Such a provider should act as a «digital gateway» between Ukrainian private enforcement agents and international crypto asset operators: ensuring legal cross-border access to assets, interaction with exchanges and custodians, support for seizure, storage, sale, or conversion procedures, as well as reporting in accordance with international requirements.
«Trust mechanisms can be an effective temporary tool until the full launch of the VASP/CASP market in Ukraine, - O. Chernykh noted at the end of the conference. - Ukraine has the necessary legal and professional potential to form a modern, technology-oriented system of cross-border enforcement of court decisions, capable of responding to the challenges of the global digital economy and integrating into international legal mechanisms».
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