In a significant recent judgment, the ADGM Court has clarified that it has jurisdiction to hear an action for fraudulent trading against the former directors of an onshore UAE company.
By way of background, NMC Healthcare LTD (NMC), and its various subsidiaries, were incorporated in onshore UAE. On 17 September 2020, NMC was redomiciled as an ADGM company. Shortly thereafter, on 27 September 2020, NMC was put into administration pursuant to the ADGM Insolvency Regulations 2015 and joint administrators (the Joint Administrators) appointed.
The judgment of Nicholas Thompsell, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, in Hellard & Ors v OJSC Rossiysky Kredit Bank & Ors [2024] EWHC 1783 (Ch) deals with three questions raised by an application of the trustees in bankruptcy of Anatoly Leonidovich Motylev for directions under s 303(2) Insolvency Act 1986:
(1) Should the trustees treat certain Russian bank creditors as being caught by the sanctions imposed under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019?
The Privy Council has recently delivered a landmark judgment on the interplay between arbitration agreements and winding up petitions. The Board held that the English case of Salford Estates (No 2) Ltd v Altomart Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 1575; Ch 589, which had adopted a pro-arbitration approach to stay or dismiss winding up petitions based on debts covered by arbitration agreements, even if the debts were not genuinely disputed on substantial grounds was wrongly decided.
In a decision handed down by Downes J on 4 July 2024, the Federal Court of Australia provided guidance on the treatment of capital gains in bankruptcy, and endorsed the approach that has been taken by the ATO: Robson as trustee for the bankrupt estate of Lanning v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCA 720 (Decision).
Key takeaways
The issue of release/enforcement of third party guarantees as part of a resolution plan of the borrower has been the subject of litigation across various judicial forums in India.
To clarify this issue, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed amendments to IBBI (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations 2016 as part of its recent discussion paper.
Certain amendments to the reckless trading provisions of section 610 of the Companies Act 2014 contained in the Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2024Opens in new window (the “Act”) came into force on 1 July 2024 (pursuant to S.I. 303 of 2024).
The Privy Council endorsed the Commercial Court's approach in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in staying insolvency proceedings, even when faced with a pre-existing arbitration agreement, only when a debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds.
Introduction
Sian Participation Corp (In Liquidation) (Appellant) v Halimeda International Ltd (Respondent) (Virgin Islands) [2024] UKPC 16
Court awards first security for costs order in respect of a challenge to a restructuring plan.
Key takeaways
The High Court has for the first time awarded security for costs in respect of a challenge to a proposed English restructuring plan.1
The Principal Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi (“NCLAT”) in the case of Pooja Mehra v Nilesh Sharma (RP for Dream Procon Pvt. Ltd.)1, while examining the validity of the appellant homebuyers' claim, dismissed an appeal for condonation of delay of 552 (five hundred and fifty-two) days in filing a claim against the corporate debtor.