The former directors of the failed Five Star group appeared in court this morning on charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office, The National Business Review reported. Marcus Macdonald, Anthony Bowden, Nicholas Kirk and alleged “shadow director” Neill Williams will next appear at the Auckland District Court on October 28 for a post-committal hearing. The SFO has laid more than 100 charges under the Crimes Act against them over related party lending that took place between 2003 and 2007 involving loans worth $50 million, much of which is said to be irrecoverable.

Mark Korda of KordaMentha said his main concern in MFS's financial problems was to ensure the sale of the Stella tourism group went through, The Australian reported. He said yesterday that if MFS went into voluntary administration before selling Stella then the value of Stella would be zero. Corporate recovery adviser KordaMentha was appointed by the MFS board in January 2008 to deal with MFS's solvency issues. The firm had consistently maintained that MFS was solvent because it had sufficient assets to pay off its liabilities.

Riviera Marine (Int.) Pty Ltd., part of a group of Australian companies that manufacture and sell luxury boats, is seeking bankruptcy protection in the U.S., Trade Only Today reported. Riviera CEO John Anderson said in a statement that the filing is not a new proceeding, but "merely a request that the U.S. courts recognize the [Deed of Company Arrangement] process, which was officially completed by Riviera in June 2010 and that allows us to complete our restructure of both our Australian and U.S. operations." The U.S. filing follows a voluntary administration in Australia.

The run on deposits at the troubled Kabul Bank slowed Tuesday after a long religious holiday, but Afghan financial officials and businessmen said they foresaw further problems in stabilizing the bank, the nation’s largest, The New York Times reported. They raised the possibility of prosecutions of bank officials who were in charge until two weeks ago, when they were ousted because of fears that the bank’s losses far exceeded its deposits.

The Dubai World debt saga is finally about to end. At least so the troubled conglomerate would have us believe, after claiming support from a majority of creditors for restructuring the billions of dollars it owes them, The Wall Street Journal’s The Source blog reported. Admittedly the claim came a day after the deadline late last week for Dubai World’s senior creditors to accept a lock-up agreement. But, still, Dubai’s powers that be clearly reckon the development warrants celebration and they may be right, at least in the near term.

The Treasury will begin paying out investors in failed Mutual Finance under the Crown guarantee two months after the company was placed in receivership, The National Business Review reported. Covenant Trustee appointed Grant Graham and Brendon Gibson of KordaMentha as Mutual Finance's receivers in July. Mutual owed 340 depositors $9.3 million. In a report released today, the receivers say they have verified the investor register, enabling the Treasury to begin its payout process. Mutual had a loan and asset book of $8.23 million at the time of receivership.

Feltex's liquidator, McDonald Vague, is pushing ahead with its court case against five former directors of the failed carpet maker, spurred on by admissions made in the case the five recently won against the Registrar of Companies, The New Zealand Herald reported. McDonald Vague director Iain McLennan said the Registrar of Companies case, including a district court trial, had been watched closely. ANZ, owed A$119.5 million, ran out of patience with the company's board and tipped Feltex into receivership on September 22, 2006 with McGrathNicol appointed receivers.

NIS Group Co. fell as much as 39 percent in Tokyo after the Japanese consumer and business lender said its liabilities may exceed assets after Incubator Bank of Japan Ltd. went bankrupt, Bloomberg reported. NIS has 9,720 shares in Incubator Bank, which declared bankruptcy last week, NIS said in a statement on Sept. 10. NIS also has 6.7 billion yen ($79 million) of debt in Incubator Bank. NIS fell 33 percent to 12 yen at 9:19 a.m. in Tokyo, after earlier declining 39 percent to 11 yen.

Dubai World, the ports and real-estate conglomerate that shocked global investors late last year by delaying debt payment, said Friday it had won support from 99% of its creditors for its restructuring plan, putting a final deal for over $24.9 billion in debt one step closer, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In a statement Friday, the company and its owner, the government of Dubai, said they were pleased with the outcome.

The Japanese government Friday announced a Y915 billion stimulus package aimed at helping the export-driven economy deal with domestic deflation, a surging yen and a slowdown in overseas markets, Dow Jones reported. The plan, which draws on existing funding to avoid the need for yet more debt, has already been dismissed by economists as too small to have much impact given the scope of Japan's economic malaise. The wide-ranging program includes incentives and regulatory reforms to prop up employment, consumer spending and corporate investment at home.