Headlines

A former sales executive found guilty of involvement in a Unaoil Group-linked bribery scheme has appealed his conviction at a London court, arguing the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office failed to disclose secret communications between agency officials and a private investigator for other individuals implicated in the wrongdoing, the  Wall Street Journal reported. Paul Bond, a former sales manager for Unaoil client SBM Offshore, said the SFO “fundamentally failed to comply” with its duty to disclose evidence and stopped him from receiving a fair trial. Mr.

Morocco has extended a ban on international passenger flights until the end of January to fight the spread of the Omicron variant, RFI reported. The closure deals a severe blow to its vital tourism economy, with those working in the sector warning that Morocco is going bankrupt. The National Office of Airports (ONDA) announced on Friday that all passenger flights to and from Morocco would be suspended until 31 January 2021. Royal Air Maroc – the local airline – said that its scheduled exceptional flights between 24 December and 31 December 2021 would still operate.

A U.S. bankruptcy court has confirmed the chapter 11 plan to liquidate entities of troubled Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT), following a confirmation hearing held on Dec 20, 2021, Business Times reported. The DBS Trustee said it does not expect unit-holders will receive any distributions on account of liquidating trust interests at this time. Under the plan, the stapled securityholders will only be entitled to a distribution only if there is value available at EH-Reit and only if holders of claims against EH-Reit have been paid in full.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved the $62 million sale of Limetree Bay refinery to a Jamaican oil storage company that intends to restart the refinery, Reuters reported. Private-equity investors had poured $4.1 billion into reviving the aging U.S. Virgin Islands facility, which was shut down by U.S. environmental regulators after a botched restart earlier this year. West Indies Petroleum, along with Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation, was named the winning bidder on Saturday by Limetree after a second auction was conducted over the weekend.

This November, Chinese media reported that a 42-year-old restaurant owner in the central Henan province — who had made a name for himself by passing out free meals to medical workers — died by suicide after severe floods and yet another local outbreak of COVID-19 left his mired business hopelessly in debt, according to a commentary in Sixth Tone. That same month, a court in the southern megacity of Shenzhen made national headlines by approving a bankruptcy petition from a single mother and former small-business owner.

Credit Suisse has launched legal action against SoftBank in an effort to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars it claims it is owed by the Japanese investor, marking a further deterioration in a relationship that has grown increasingly acrimonious following the collapse of Greensill Capital, Asia Nikkei reported. The lawsuit relates to $440m in funds that were owed to the Swiss bank's wealthy customers by Katerra, a U.S. construction company.

Record-high power and gas prices have crippled energy suppliers worldwide, leaving some running at a loss and causing many to collapse altogether, Bloomberg News reported. Energy providers are closing down in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Finland and Singapore. That’s reducing choice for consumers, triggering government intervention and threatening innovation. It’s been especially damaging for suppliers who sold energy at fixed prices to withstand volatility.