Office of the Supervisor of Insolvency, Ministry of Finance - Trinidad and Tobago

The Office of the Supervisor of Insolvency (OSI) was established in 2014 and is a Division under the Ministry of Finance. Its main role is to operationalize the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, 2007 (BIA) which came into effect on May 26, 2014. The OSI licenses and regulates trustees, ensures an efficient and effective regulatory framework, supervises stakeholders’ compliance with respect to the insolvency process and maintains public records and statistics.

The objectives are to be achieved via the implementation of the five (5) strategic themes identified in the OSI’s Strategic Plan 2024-2027 which are, namely: marketing and engagement, compliance, operation efficiency, administration and finally, legal.

The OSI continues to promote financial rescue and rehabilitation amongst other undertakings by improving debtor-creditor relations. To accomplish this, the OSI seeks to educate and inform stakeholders on the concepts of bankruptcy and insolvency. The aim is to replace associated stigmas with the knowledge of the benefits of debt relief, and to use the rescue mechanisms under the BIA as a tool in their arsenal, to mitigate against liquidation and winding up procedures and continue as a going concern.

The OSI currently has twenty-one (21) licenced trustees.

Insolvent Cases - There are four (4) registered corporate insolvent cases and three (3) ongoing registered individual insolvent cases.

Bankruptcy - There is one (1) involuntary bankrupt case registered. This case is now closed and the bankrupt has been discharged.

Receiverships - There are thirty-one (31) registered receivership cases managed by the trustees licensed under the BIA. 

Closed Cases - As reported in the last Country Report of FY2024, there were eight (8) closed cases however, on review of the case files, it was determined that there was outstanding documentation as required by the BIA and BIR for the matter to be considered closed. The OSI took the decision to reopen seven of the cases to ensure full compliance with the relevant legislation. Therefore, in accordance with the records of the OSI, only one (1) of the thirty (30) cases has been closed as at 2024.

On-going Cases - The ongoing receivership cases range in age from 14 months to 8.4 years. In the majority of these cases the Receiver-Manager is focusing more on the management of the business, rather than on disposition of assets, as this would allow the creditor to recoup a larger portion of the debt.  A substantial portion of these cases have also been delayed due to litigation procedures.