The Supreme Court has officially ratified a decision by the creditors of Custodian Life Limited to fire Deloitte officers from their roles as Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPLs). The dismissal comes after a turbulent two-and-a-half-year period characterized by alleged inaction, exorbitant fees, and significant data privacy violations.
John Johnson, Ed Wilmott, and Martin Czarnocki were initially appointed as JPLs for the in-liquidation company in November 2023. However, an Ad-Hoc Creditors’ Committee recently issued an update to creditors and policyholders announcing the termination of their mandate. Impatient creditors voted to remove the Deloitte officers after alleging they achieved “next to zero” progress over their 2.5-year tenure while accumulating approximately US$6 million in fees, including legal costs.
The ousted liquidators faced heavy criticism for their handling of confidential information. Early on, the JPLs alienated Custodian Life’s owners, who had been eager to legally release confidential data and overcome privacy hurdles before Bermuda’s Personal Information Protection Act 2016 (PIPA) took effect in January 2025. Compounding these tensions, the Deloitte JPLs themselves reportedly breached GDPR legislation on two separate occasions. The breaches, which involved the public broadcasting of sensitive data belonging to policyholders and Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs), sparked significant complaints.
More critically, the JPLs have been accused of failing to pursue a highly anticipated Insurance Appeals Tribunal hearing. Custodian Life’s management was extremely confident they would win the hearing against the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). According to management, a successful tribunal outcome would have restored the company’s commercial status quo, allowing commercial business to continue while facilitating a mutual restructuring and offshore relocation. Instead, the Deloitte liquidators alienated the very management team that had offered them support.
As the dust settles on Deloitte’s controversial tenure, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is scheduled to assume the role of liquidators beginning June 30, 2026. Meanwhile, the fallout continues, as multiple parties are now weighing their legal options to seek redress against the former Deloitte officers.