Blog
One hand in the cookie jar: Fraud and directors’ duties in insolvency
Luke Gregory
We regularly act for trustees in bankruptcy, liquidators and administrators. We can get involved at the outset and advise on issues of appointment, assist with utilising the powerful investigative tools under the Insolvency Act and the Insolvency Rules to trace assets, including invoking the powers of the court to request production of relevant documents, investigate a bankrupt’s affairs and seek cross examination. We can also assist with challenging transactions including preferences, transactions at an undervalue and transactions defrauding creditors, as well as wrongful trading and fraudulent trading.
Our in-depth civil fraud expertise means that we are particularly well placed to assist in complex insolvency disputes that involve an element of fraud and/or dishonesty as well as understanding how best to approach asset tracing, particularly when those assets have been deliberately dissipated or concealed.
Our recent experience advising insolvency practitioners includes:
- obtaining multiple urgent out of court administration appointments including advising on their powers and post appointment issues including ROT claims, purported exercise of liens, cross border elements, furloughing/redundancy of staff and termination of leases;
- acting for a trustee in bankruptcy seeking to challenge various transactions, including a divorce settlement, and to challenge an employee benefit trust on the basis that it was a sham;
- acting for a liquidator seeking to recover fees paid to the former administrators on the basis that they were excessive for the amount of work done and raised in breach of the fiduciary duties owed by the former administrators and
- acting for the liquidator of a Cayman company in relation to a pension scheme being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office.
For more information, have a look at our frequently asked questions on insolvency litigation and read our case studies.
We can also advise: