Offshore
United Arab Emirates
1 year ranked
Provided by Harneys Legal Limited
Litigation & Insolvency
Investigations, Corporate Crime & Fraud
Listco Disputes
Mergers & Securities Disputes
Trusts & Private Client Litigation
International Arbitration
Private Wealth
Family Office
Trusts
Restructuring
Distressed Funds
Probate & Letters of Administration
Ian Mann is the managing partner of our Dubai office and a partner in our Litigation, Insolvency and Restructuring team.
Ian specialises in restructuring, insolvency, shareholder disputes and contentious trusts. He is an experienced advocate and continues to appear in Court regularly.
Ian is the author of both of the leading offshore textbooks on British Virgin Islands Commercial Law and Bermuda Commercial Law and is a contributor to the Offshore Litigation Blog and Take 10 podcast. He is also a Board Director and Fellow of INSOL International as well as a qualified Trusts and Estates Practitioner. Ian teaches the offshore module of the INSOL Global Insolvency Practice Course. He also teaches the contentious trusts module of the STEP Postgraduate Diploma in Private Wealth Advice.
Memberships include:
INSOL International
International Insolvency Institute
Harneys Listco Dispute Unit
Privy Council
Advising Convoy Global Holdings Limited, which resulted in the recent landmark Privy Council decision in London of Convoy Collateral Ltd (Appellant) v Cho Kwai Chee (also known as Cho Kwai Chee Roy) (Respondent) (British Virgin Islands) which materially changed common law freezing injunctions for the first time in 44 years.
Advising the appellant in the recent Privy Council case of Byers and others (Appellants) v Ningning (Respondent) (British Virgin Islands) (directors’ fiduciary duties).
Advising the appellant in the Privy Council in Ming Siu Hung and others (Appellants) v J F Ming Inc and another (Respondents) (British Virgin Islands) (failure to provide accounts).
Advising the appellant in the ongoing Privy Council appeal in Yao Juan v Kwok Kin Kwok Re: Crown Treasure Limited.
Advising the appellant in the Privy Council appeal in Shanda Games Ltd (Appellant) v Maso Capital Investments Ltd and others (Respondents) (Cayman Islands)(to determine the “fair value” of shares held by shareholders and the “fair rate of interest” payable).
Post-privatisation share valuation disputes
Advising in multiple s238 dissenting shareholder proceedings in the Cayman Islands Grand Court, following privatisations from US exchanges (eg Perfect World Co., Bona Films, Kong Zhong, Mindray Medical International, Homeinns Hotel Group, Qihoo 360 (valued at US$45 billion with respect to its delisting from NASDAQ), Qunar (valued at US$4.4 billion with respect to its delisting from NASDAQ)and JA Solar Holdings).
Asset Tracing
Ongoing worldwide asset tracing, injunctive relief, appointment of receivers and freezing injunctions for JTrust Asia Pte Ltd.
Restructuring & Insolvency
Advising the company and the provisional liquidators of China Agrotech Holdings Limited on the restructuring of its HK$1,677.9 million of debt and on novel shareholder issues, resulting in a successful reverse takeover and relisting on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Advising the liquidators in Supreme Tycoon Limited [2018] HKCFI 277, the leading authority on common law recognition of Court supervised collective insolvency proceedings.
Advising the provisional liquidators in relation to the restructuring of over US$1 billion debts and liabilities of China Lumena New Materials Corp.
Acting for Titan Resources Management Limited, a group company of Titan Petrochemicals Group Limited, in relation to the implementation of a scheme of arrangement in the BVI.
Advising the ad hoc bondholder group in relation to the proposed US$2.78 billion restructuring of LDK Solar Co. Ltd (then in provisional liquidation), a leading producer of solar wafers and manufacturer of photovoltaic products incorporated in the Cayman Islands and with manufacturing facilities in the PRC (Named “Restructuring Deal of the Year” at the 2017 IFLR Asia Awards).
Acting for the largest creditor in Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd’s provisional liquidation and restructuring.
Advising the largest creditor on the restructuring of Dalian Rightway Real Estate Development Co. Ltd.'s US$446 million pre-IPO facilities.
Acting for the company and subsequently for certain bondholders in Greens Holdings Limited's provisional liquidation and restructuring.
Advising HKSE-listed PRC property development firm Kaisa Group on the restructuring of US$2.5 billion of offshore debts, in the largest judicially approved, multi-jurisdictional debt restructuring of a China-based group.
Advising Z-Obee Holdings and its Hong Kong-appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators, on their continued efforts to restructure Hong Kong-based electronics manufacturer Max Sunny and Bermudian parent Z-Obee Holdings in relation to the non-payment of US$78 million in outstanding facilities.
Advising Titan Resources Management Limited on the successful approval of a BVI scheme of arrangement for which Harneys won the Asia Transformation and Turnaround Association (ATTA) Legal Services Award.
Provided by Chambers
Ian Mann is a well-established offshore litigator whose expertise covers both Cayman Islands and BVI law. He has a distinguished reputation for handling high-stakes litigation as well as restructuring and insolvency cases. In December 2025 he was appointed managing partner of Harneys' newly launched Dubai office.
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