On August 28, 2012, the Special Tribunal related to Dubai World (the “Tribunal”) formally approved the restructuring of more than US$2 billion of debt of Drydocks World LLC and Drydocks World – Dubai LLC (together, “Drydocks”) under a syndicated term loan facility and separate hedging agreements, in the first restructuring approved under Dubai Decree No.
On 15 June 2015, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (Global Market), Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone, published the following six new regulations concerning the regulation of non-financial services in the Global Market:
On December 13, 2009, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No. 57 for 2009 Establishing a Tribunal to Decide Disputes Related to the Settlement of the Financial Position of Dubai World and its Subsidiaries (Decree No. 57).1 The text of Decree No. 57 is available at http://www.difccourts.ae.
On 13 December 2009, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No. 57 for 2009 Establishing a Tribunal to Decide Disputes Related to the Settlement of the Financial Position of Dubai World and its Subsidiaries (Decree No. 57). The text of Decree No. 57 is available at http://www.difccourts.ae.
Why Issue Decree No. 57?
Proposed changes to UK insolvency laws aim to support companies under pressure due to COVID-19.
On 28 March 2020, the UK government announced a number of reforms to UK insolvency laws:
The Supreme Court decides how client moneys are to be allocated in the Lehman estate, which has far-reaching implications for distributions in other financial collapses.
The Supreme Court has recently handed down a decision in a contentious and difficult application in the Lehman administration, a decision which fundamentally affects the allocation of client moneys in the Lehman estate.
The Court of Appeal handed down its judgment on 14 October 2011 unanimously upholding the first instance decision that a Financial Support Direction (FSD) issued by the Pensions Regulator to an entity after it has commenced insolvency proceedings will rank as an expense of the administration, therefore affording it super-priority over floating charge holders and other unsecured creditors. This decisions has significant implications for lenders to groups with UK defined benefit pension plans if any of their security is taken as a floating charge.
The UK Pensions Regulator (the Regulator) has just announced that it has reached a settlement with the intended target of its first Contribution Notice (CN), with the result that the CN has been issued, but for a far lower amount than the Regulator originally sought. This case gives important guidance on the situations in which the Regulator believes it will be justified in issuing a CN, and on the potential liabilities targets may face.
The Moral Hazard Powers
Summary
Since April 2005, the UK Pensions Regulator (the Regulator) has had the power to take action, in the form of financial support directions (FSDs) or contribution notices (CNs), against parties that are "connected or associated" with a company that operates a UK defined benefit pension plan. This will typically include all entities in the same group as the employer.
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