On 31 October 2023, Federal Law No. 51 of 2023 Promulgating the Financial and Bankruptcy Law (the Bankruptcy Law) was published in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Official Gazette, repealing the prior federal law on bankruptcy (Federal Law No. 9 of 2016, the Prior Law) and significantly developing the bankruptcy regime in the UAE.

On 23 November 2022, the Regional Court of Munich ruled that shareholders' damages claims for breach of capital markets law rank as equity and not as general unsecured claims in the Wirecard insolvency. As a result, the shareholders can only recover from the insolvent estate in the unlikely event that all insolvency creditors' claims are fully satisfied.

The decision

The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) recently changed its interpretation of the law regarding clawback claims, Vorsatzanfechtung (case of actio pauliana). Here, we outline how the Court's position on clawback claims has changed and what this could mean for future claims.

What are the existing legal provisions?