United States

The court-appointed official overseeing the US bankruptcy of Seán Dunne has asked an American court for permission to examine, in private, documents from Irish and Swiss family law proceedings in which the developer is involved, the Irish Times reported. Bankruptcy trustee Richard Coan has also asked to question the Co Carlow developer (59), now living in the US, on the records at a private hearing if required.

Mt. Gox Co., once the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, won approval of its U.S. bankruptcy filing, giving a boost to a Japanese investigation into the disappearance of 650,000 units of the digital currency, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey G. Jernigan said today in Dallas she has “ample legal authority” to accept the U.S. filing and recognize Mt. Gox’s Japanese bankruptcy as the foreign main proceeding. The ruling empowers the company’s Japanese trustee to examine witnesses, gather and review evidence, and oversee assets in the U.S., such as servers.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed Argentina a major setback in its long-running battle with a small group of determined creditors, heightening the risk the country will default for the second time in 13 years, The Wall Street Journal reported. The justices on Monday rejected Argentina's appeal of a lower-court ruling that said the country can't make bond payments until it compensates hedge funds that refused to accept restructured debt in the years following Argentina's 2001 default.

Veris Gold Corp., which owns Jerritt Canyon, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday in the U.S. and Canada after the Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch claimed the company was in default, the Elko Daily Free Press reported. These filings also follow Veris Gold laying off nearly 60 people at the Jerritt Canyon complex last week. Veris Gold said the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued an order Monday granting “the company’s application for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.” Veris Gold has its headquarters in Vancouver.

Bitcoin company CoinLab Inc. has thrown its support behind Japanese bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox's U.S. bankruptcy case, a change of course for CoinLab, which has sued Mt. Gox for $75 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. Lawyers for CoinLab said in court papers Friday that they wouldn't object to Mt. Gox's formal request for U.S. bankruptcy protection, despite earlier hints that they might challenge that request. Court documents offered no explanation for CoinLab's decision. Japanese insolvency expert Nobuaki Kobayashi, who is leading Mt.

The court-appointed trustee overseeing the US bankruptcy of property developer Sean Dunne intends to ask the American court’s permission to seek access to family law documents in Ireland, the Irish Times reported. Timothy Miltenberger, lawyer for Mr Dunne’s trustee Rich Coan, told the Connecticut bankruptcy court yesterday that he intended to apply under US bankruptcy law to obtain information about the Co Carlow developer’s finances under confidentiality conditions.

Brazilian bank Banco Cruzeiro do Sul SA on Wednesday sought Chapter 15 relief in Miami, where a liquidator suspects some of its assets are located, after a Brazilian regulator took over its operations, Law360 reported. The bank’s liquidator and foreign representative, Eduardo Felix Bianchini, is asking a Florida bankruptcy judge to recognize the liquidation pending before the Central Bank of Brazil as the foreign main proceeding. The Central Bank seized Banco Cruzeiro’s and its affiliates’ assets in June 2012.

Lenders are preparing to take control of retailer Vivarte from Charterhouse Capital Partners, in a rare French debt-for-equity swap worth more than €2 billion, the Financial News reported. Oaktree Capital Management, Alcentra and Hayfin Capital Management are among the lenders preparing to convert €2 billion of the company’s €2.8 billion debt package to equity and quasi-equity instruments as part of the restructuring, according to a statement from the company. Under the plan, Charterhouse would be likely to lose more than €500 million on its investment in the French retailer.

Former Anglo Irish Bank Corp. Chief Executive Officer David K. Drumm, sued by the defunct lender over an unpaid personal loan, conceded to a U.S. judge he made “a lot of errors” in his bankruptcy filing and wasn’t aware he needed to reveal $1.2 million in cash transfers to his wife, Bloomberg News reported. Drumm, 47, filed for personal bankruptcy protection from creditors in 2010 in Boston, two years after he began moving money to a new account set up for his wife. Anglo Irish argues Drumm can’t use U.S.

The fugitive businessman who controlled Mexicana airlines before it went bankrupt and was recently charged with illegal use of the airline's funds has asked for asylum in the United States, a federal official said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Assistant Attorney General Mariana Benitez said that Gaston Azcarraga is in the United States and has applied for asylum following the expiration of his visa. U.S. officials notified Mexico that Azcarraga is in their country a few days ago, Benitez said. She added that Mexico requested that he be extradited but U.S.