Kyle Davies, the co-founder of bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), has submitted documentation to court claiming he is fully a citizen of Singapore and not the United States.
In an Aug. 1 filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Davies provided notarized and Apostilled copies of the form applying for the renunciation of his U.S. citizenship on Dec. 15, 2020. He claimed to have received citizenship to Singapore following the issuance of a passport in January 2021 and was not “subjecting [him]self to, or accepting the jurisdiction of, the Courts in the United States.”
Court filings showed Davies renounced his citizenship at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, citing his decision to live in the country long-term. He said he got married in 2017 to a Singaporean national, gained permanent residency, and has two children in the country. As Singapore does not allow dual nationality, he chose to renounce his U.S. citizenship.
The filing from Davies followed a subpoena issued at the request of 3AC liquidators aimed at gaining information on the collapse of the crypto hedge fund. Both Davies and 3AC co-founder Su Zhu were subpoenaed on Twitter — now X — in January due to their physical whereabouts being unknown, but parties have argued Davies should be held in contempt of court after he ignored the order. Zhu, a Singaporean national, would likely not be subject to the subpoena if residing outside the United States.
“Davies has not been, and cannot be, validly served with process as a non-party in this case because he has not been a United States citizen or resident since well before this case was commenced,” said an Aug. 1 filing. “Since Davies has not been validly served, the Court does not have personal jurisdiction over him. The Service Order and Compel Order were premised on the incorrect presumption that Davies is a U.S. citizen, and therefore they should be vacated.”
The whereabouts of both Zhu and Davies following the bankruptcy filing for 3AC in July 2022 has been the subject of mass speculation and debate among crypto users affected by the market crash. Lawyers have appeared before the bankruptcy court on Davies’ behalf, but the revelation of his lack of U.S. citizenship could complicate legal proceedings. The bankruptcy court will hold a hearing on Aug. 8 to discuss the matter.
Liquidators behind 3AC are seeking to recover roughly $1.3 billion in funds from Zhu and Davies, with the firm reportedly owing creditors $3.5 billion. Amid online ire surrounding the events leading to the collapse of 3AC, Zhu and Davies launched a platform for trading claims against bankrupt crypto firms called Open Exchange. Sotheby’s has also auctioned off several pieces from a nonfungible token collection formerly owned by the 3AC founders.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
Advertisement
‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.