^{"Whenever there is change, and whenever there is uncertainty, there is opportunity."Mark Cuban, American businessman and investor}

In the current global market, very few things are clear other than that volatility and change are ever-present.

This week’s TGIF examines a recent decision of the NSW Supreme Court which considered whether funds held in certain bank accounts of a failed Ponzi scheme should be returned to investors or paid to creditors of the companies.

What happened?

Since freezing orders were obtained by ASIC in 2017, details surrounding the infamous Courtenay House ‘Ponzi’ scheme operated from a small office at Westfield in Bondi have slowly emerged.

The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 (Regulations) to amend the structure of UK annual reports have been published and laid before Parliament.

In Ambiente Ufficio S.p.A. and others v Argentine Republic, an ICSID tribunal held that it had general jurisdiction over a multi-party claim commenced by 90 distinct Italian nationals against Argentina in respect of harm said to result from Argentina’s default and later partial restructuring of its sovereign debt. It might at first blush appear that the tribunal’s willingness to admit a 90-party claim is an affirmation of the favourable approach to so-called “mass claims” taken by its “sister tribunal” in Abaclat (and others) v The Argentine Republic.

EU requirement for national insolvency registers to be established in all Member States (Recast Insolvency Regulation 2015 ((EU) 2015/848))

Will Nevin Partner T +44 20 7466 2199 [email protected]

UK TIMELINE

Kevin Pullen Partner T +44 20 7466 2976 [email protected]

2017Q4 (Oct-Dec)

As a result of the Recast European Insolvency Regulation (“REIR”), which applies to insolvency proceedings commenced since 26 June this year, insolvency practitioners in EU Member States have been given more freedom to commence insolvency-related claims in jurisdictions other than the jurisdiction of the insolvency proceedings (ie the court proceedings by which the affairs of the insolvent company are administered – eg liquidation or administration).

In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed the extent to which an English law governed contract can be subject to the transaction avoidance provisions of the insolvency law of other another member state if one of the counterparties enters into insolvency in that member state (eg Italy): Vinyls Italia SpA v Mediterranea di Navigazione SpA C-54/16 (8 June 2017).

When we began analysing in depth the possibility of Britain exiting the European Union, 18 months prior to the June 2016 referendum, the HERBERT businessSMITH FREEHILLS consensus w07as very muchSECTION TITLE that Brexit was a remote prospect that either would never happen or not matter.

Fast forward just over two years and the reality could not be more different. In this updated edition of our Brexit legal guide, we take stock of the present situation, summarising the key developments since last year's vote and what is to be expected in the months ahead. 10 33 99

If 2016 ended with more questions than answers as to how Brexit would take shape, 2017 began with at least a little more clarity.

Issues will arise upon a UK exit in relation to restructuring tools such as schemes of arrangement and in relation to insolvency processes; there are also special EU insolvency rules for financial institutions which will be affected. Finally there are elements of EU financial services laws which impinge on insolvencies and remove uncertainties, such as settlement finality and financial collateral.