Headlines

Food delivery and ride-hailing service Bolt's local operators have hit back at a media report that suggested the operation is insolvent, the Times of Malta reported. In a judicial letter filed in court on Monday, BLT Food Malta Ltd, BLT Operations Ltd and BLT Malta Ltd took umbrage with a media report which included claims that the company is legally insolvent. On Sunday, MaltaToday reported how Debono Group, one of the principal investors in the local operations of Bolt, had gone to court to try and recover money it had lent to get the operation started in Malta.

A British court on Monday granted a bankruptcy order against Vijay Mallya, paving the way for a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to pursue a worldwide freezing order to seek repayment of debt owed by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, the Financial Express reported. “As at 15.42 [UK time], I shall adjudicate Dr Mallya bankrupt,” Chief Insolvencies and Companies Court (ICC) Judge Michael Briggs said in his ruling during a virtual hearing of the Chancery Division of the High Court.

The U.K. government could face “limitless” losses as a result of businesses that accept payments in untaxed and untraceable cryptocurrencies going bust, an insolvency expert has warned, The Guardian reported. A growing number of companies, including the ethical cosmetics firm Lush and office-sharing firm WeWork, have begun taking payments for goods and services in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, alongside debit payments, credit or cash.

Former millionaire property developer Philip Marley has succeeded in halting the work of a forensic accountant who was appointed as his bankruptcy trustee, the Independent reported. The Irish High Court this week put a stay on a previous order vesting the colourful businessman’s bankruptcy estate in accountant Mícheál Leydon. The move followed claims by Mr. Marley that the appointment was “rogue” and had been “engineered” by an aggrieved creditor, Maven Capital Partners LLP.

Ryanair has reported a €273 million loss for its first quarter even as traffic rebounded during the period, the Irish Times reported. The carrier said that it carried 8.1 million passengers in the three-month period, covering April to June. This compares to just 500,000 in the same period a year earlier. Revenues increased 196 per cent from €125 million in the first quarter of 2020 to €371 million for the same quarter this year. Operational costs also rose, however, jumping from €313 million to €675 million.

The superintendence of Brazil's competition regulator Cade said on Friday that it viewed an asset sale by Brazilian telecom Oi SA as "complex," suggesting that TIM, Telefônica Brasil and América Móvil's Claro may struggle to wrap up a quick sale, Reuters reported. The three companies won an auction to buy Oi's mobile network operations for 16.5 billion reais ($3.17 billion) in December, pending regulatory approval, after Oi filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016.

Bridging Finance Inc., the private lender that was seized by Canadian regulators amid an investigation of its top executives, has drawn interest from a “broad range” of potential bidders, according to the firm managing its affairs during the probe, Bloomberg News reported. PricewaterhouseCoopers said Friday it will soon seek court approval for a sales and investor solicitation process to market some or all of Bridging’s assets, and that it has already received indications of interest from multiple parties. Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that funds managed by BlackRock Inc.

India’s Supreme Court rejected petitions by telecom companies seeking a reassessment of how much they owe the government, a two-decade-long dispute that threatens the survival of cash-strapped Vodafone Idea Ltd., Bloomberg News reported. A two-judge panel headed by L. Nageswara Rao on Friday dismissed the petitions by Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel Ltd. “All applications are dismissed,” Rao said without without giving reasons. A detailed copy of the order is awaited. During the previous hearing, judges referred to a verdict last year that said no recalculation would be allowed.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has revised the eligibility requirements of insolvency professionals hired to run companies undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, Mint reported. Insolvency professionals are required to have experience in any of the professional fields such as management, law, chartered accountancy, company secretaryship, or cost accounting. The new changes give more flexibility to professionals given that some of the professionals may have experience in more than one discipline.