On December 19, 2014, the UK Insolvency Service reported that two former directors of Connaught Asset Management, Nigel Walter and Michael Anthony Davies, have both been disqualified from controlling or managing a company for a period of 9 and 7 years respectively. The former directors allowed the misuse of up to £106m of investor money by failing to review the progress on loans made with monies borrowed from funds and not ensuring the money was repaid to the fund following loan completion.
The press release is available at:
Dealing a major blow to the trustee’s efforts to recover fraudulent transfers on behalf of the bankruptcy estate of the company run by Bernard Madoff, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held in SIPC v. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC1 that the Bankruptcy Code cannot be used to recover fraudulent transfers of funds that occur entirely outside the United States.
Facing the imminent bankruptcy of the federal Highway Trust Fund (the “HTF”) and the specter of delays and reductions in payments from the HTF to the States, the US Congress last week passed the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014, which extended federal surface transportation programs and funding through May 2015. We summarize below the key elements of the Act.
SHAREHOLDERS ARBITRATION
In a historic USD 50 billion award rendered on July 18,
2014, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted pursuant to the
Energy Charter Treaty held unanimously that the Russian
Federation breached its international obligations under the
Energy Charter Treaty by destroying Yukos Oil Company
and appropriating its assets.
The Tribunal, applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and sitting in The
ague under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ordered the
The recent case of Re J T Frith Ltd [2012] EWHC 196 (Ch) shows:
- how secured lenders may surrender their security in order to participate in the prescribed part available for unsecured creditors on insolvency; and
- how intercreditor deeds may be worded to allow senior secured creditors to participate in the prescribed part, despite retaining their security.
Background
Summary
The High Court has held in the “Extended Liens” application that a “general lien” granted by a client of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (“LBIE”) over financial collateral held by LBIE as security for obligations owed by the client to LBIE or any other Lehman entity was a valid floating charge, both in relation to the client’s debts to LBIE and its debts to LBIE’s affiliates.
On 1 November 2012, the High Court gave judgment in favour of the Special Administrators (“SAs”) of MF Global UK Ltd (“MFGUK”), in relation to a claim by MF Global Inc (“MFGI”) arising from certain repo-to-maturity transactions (the “RTM Application”). These transactions concerned the repo of European debt securities by MFGI to MFGUK, which were governed by a Global Master Repurchase Agreement (“GMRA”).
This update highlights developments in the administration of MF Global UK (“MFG”) since our last alert dated 15 June 2012.
Estimated outcomes