Tag: bankruptcy

Court junks Nirav Modi sister’s plea for ED intervention in US bankruptcy matter

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Mumbai: A special court on Monday rejected a plea of Purvi Mehta, sister of fugitive diamond trader and PNB scam accused Nirav Modi, seeking a direction to the Enforcement Directorate to intervene in bankruptcy proceedings underway against him in the United States where she has been made a defendant.
In the plea, filed in April last year before the special court for cases under the Fugitive Economics Offenders (FEO) Act, Mehta (47) had said the ED should be directed to intervene in the case before a US court and seek injunction at least with respect to assets concerning her.
She has turned an approver in the bank fraud case filed under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Special judge S M Menjoge, after hearing prosecution and defence sides, rejected Mehta’s plea, saying there was no provision in the FEO Act by which the relief sought by her can be granted.
This court cannot prevent any person from prosecuting any matter either in India or outside the country, the judge observed.
Nirav Modi, a key accused in the Rs 13,000-crore scam at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), was declared a fugitive economic offender in December 2019. The 51-year-old diamantaire is currently lodged in a UK prison.
In June 2020, a special PMLA court in Mumbai ordered confiscation of his properties which the ED claimed had been bought using proceeds of crime.
In her plea, Mehta, who has turned an approver in the PMLA case against Nirav Modi and others, said she had been made a defendant in bankruptcy proceedings against her brother in a US court.

It means her properties are also being considered by the US court and its proceedings overlap with those in India related to her, Mehta’s plea had said.
The ED should be directed to intervene in the case before the US court, and seek an injunction at least with respect to assets concerning her, said the plea.
Lawyers representing PNB, which is the victim of the multi-crore fraud, submitted before the court that Mehta’s plea was not maintainable.
The ED also strongly objected to her plea, saying Mehta’s properties had been already attached as per provisions of the FEO Act.
There was no provision in the FEO Act to direct the central agency to intervene in US court proceedings, it told the court.
The special court, while rejecting Mehta’s plea, pointed out that she’s an approver in the PMLA case and not in this matter (filed under the FEO Act) and therefore she cannot claim be an interested party.
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, owners of prominent jewellery firms, are accused of cheating the nationalized bank to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore by fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking which act as bank guarantee while taking loans in foreign countries.
Purvi Mehta and her husband Maiank Mehta were made approvers in the bank fraud case in January 2021 on condition of making full and true disclosure before the PMLA court.
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#Court #junks #Nirav #Modi #sisters #plea #intervention #bankruptcy #matter
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 13, 2023
Musk calls past 3 months ‘tough’, says ‘had to save Twitter from bankruptcy’

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Washington: Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday said that the past three months have been “extremely tough” as he “had to save Twitter from bankruptcy” while also fulfilling his duties in Tesla and SpaceX. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Musk said that the microblogging site continues to have challenges.
Elon Musk tweeted, “Last 3 months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties. Wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.
Twitter still has challenges, but is now trending to breakeven if we keep at it. Public support is much appreciated!”. He tweeted in response to The Wall Street Journal’s news article.
Musk lamented the company’s “massive drop in revenue” just one week after closing the USD 44 billion deal to buy Twitter in October, which he attributed to “activist groups pressuring advertisers,” Fox Business reported. Since then, he has made a number of changes on Twitter, as per the news report.
Elon Musk has reduced about half of Twitter’s staff, introduced a revamped microblogging site Blue subscription service and even auctioned off memorabilia from the company’s San Francisco headquarters, Fox Business reported. He defended the Twitter layoffs in November, stressing that the company was losing USD 4 million a day.
Recently, Twitter announced that it will start charging a fee to access its API, which developers use to create third-party services, as per the news report. Earlier on January 13, Musk revealed some of the changes that were set to be introduced in the microblogging platform from next week onwards. He wrote, “Bookmark button moving to tweet details page, fixing image length crop & other minor bug fixes next week.”
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#Musk #calls #months #tough #save #Twitter #bankruptcy

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code impacted startup culture: SC judge

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New Delhi: Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Supreme Court on Saturday said the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has had a big role to play in India’s new “startup culture” as it created a conducive environment for budding entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the Insolvency Law Academy’s inaugural conference on the topic of “Emerging Global Insolvency Horizon: Indian Footprint and Front View”, Justice Kaul said India’s economy has been growing since the early 1990s, leading to an expansion of the credit market.
“In my opinion, the IBC has also had a big role to play in India’s new startup culture by creating a conducive environment for budding entrepreneurs,” he said.
Justice Kaul said the expansion of the credit market has resulted in an increase in non-performing loans and assets.
“To solve this problem, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 2016 primarily to serve two purposes — first, to ensure that debtors take sound and practical decisions and second, to give financially-ailing corporate entities a chance to rehabilitate and continue their business.
“The IBC essentially consolidated laws relating to insolvency resolution of companies, partnerships and individuals. Hence, the implementation of the IBC in India marked the beginning of a new era that completely overhauled India’s insolvency regime,” he said.
The apex court judge said in the early years of the code’s implementation, there were complex questions that required authoritative and conclusive answers.
But this provided an opportunity not only to the judiciary, but all the professionals to contribute towards laying an infallible foundation, he added.

Justice Kaul said the diversity in the Indian society must be reflective in all fields of life as it brings on the table varied views and experiences and wholesome solutions.
“I believe that the main issue in ensuring a successful representation is unconscious bias. This has led to a vicious cycle where on one hand, newcomers are not given a platform to showcase their talent due to their lack of experience.
“But on the other hand, these newcomers cannot find that experience if opportunities are not granted to them. Hence, I look forward to following how the discussions on bringing diversity into the process of insolvency, along with gender inclusivity, are dealt with by the panellists,” he said.
The judge said mediation might also help reduce the burden on the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
“Alternative resolution of such disputes will not only provide an avenue to the entities without facing an adversarial process, but can also result in speedy and cost-effective solutions for the creditors. We have to realise that these are not professional creditors so as to say.
“These are people who have invested their life savings to be able to cherish the dream of owning their own house. In these cases, it becomes all the more urgent to ensure that the relief extended to the homebuyers is not only effective, but also quick and least cumbersome,” Justice Kaul said.
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#Insolvency #Bankruptcy #Code #impacted #startup #culture #judge
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 4, 2023
Sam Bankman Fried’s co-founder gave GOP govs group $500,000 right before bankruptcy

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The $500,000 donation from Salame was part of a $28.6 million haul that the association brought in over the last three months of 2022, according to filings with the IRS.
That money — coupled with seven-figure donations from GOP mega-donors — fueled its aggressive push to claim the executive branch in a number of states on Nov. 8. Ultimately, however, Democrats flipped three governorships in their favor. And they did so with an atypical cash advantage.
“Democrats were on total defense in 2022 and their incumbents were mired in tough races due to their out-of-touch records,” an RGA spokesperson said, pointing to the defeat of the incumbent Democratic governor in Nevada.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, the Democratic Governors Association raised about $40.2 million, according to filings with the IRS. Veterans of gubernatorial campaigns said it was the rare instance of the party’s donors shifting their focus to the DGA.
“Major donors are very often focused on national issues and presidential politics rather than state issues,” former DGA executive director Colm O’Comartun said of the party’s donor class, adding that gubernatorial races in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania created a persuasive argument for the Democrats’ major donors. “Starry eyed donors have been used to being with Nancy [Pelosi] on Nantucket but are now warming to Democratic governors.”
It could have been even worse for Republicans if not for donors like Salame. Last year, RGA also received $6 million from The Concord Fund, a group associated with the powerful conservative legal activist Leonard Leo. Its project, known as the Judicial Crisis Network, spent millions to support former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominees. In 2022, the Concord Fund also gave $2.15 million to the Republican State Leadership Committee, which supports conservative candidates running for state judiciaries and other state-level campaigns.
The influx of cash suggests a growing effort by the group to focus on the states. A spokesperson for the Concord Fund maintained, though, that the group, primarily through its support for the Judicial Crisis Network, has already been involved in state court issues for over a decade.
RGA is free to accept donations of unlimited size, beyond the limits set for federal and many state-level campaigns. Groups like RGA are also free to accept contributions from corporations, unlike federal campaigns.

RGA’s 2022 fundraising haul also included a number of major conservative donor dynasties. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation — whose majority shareholder is Miriam Adelson — gave $3.79 million. The gift is also the latest indication that Adelson has remained a political force since the death of her husband, Sheldon Adelson, in 2021. Another political dynasty also spent big to support the Republican Governors: Suzanne DeVos gave $300,000, as did Richard DeVos Jr., Doug DeVos, and Daniel DeVos.
DGA’s haul also included some of the party’s mega-donors: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker gave a total of $27 million to the group in 2022, and billionaire Stephen Mandel gave $1,000,000 as well. A portion of the haul came as a transfer from an affiliated committee, Democratic Action.
DGA did not report any gifts from FTX in 2022.
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#Sam #Bankman #Frieds #cofounder #gave #GOP #govs #group #bankruptcy
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 3, 2023