Insights

Though cryptocurrencies and other digital assets have soared in popularity, the lack of mature regulation and surge of unsophisticated investors have led to a corresponding rise in fraud. However, as Kobre & Kim’s Timothy de Swardt and Merrick Watson wrote in collaboration with Kalo’s James Drury, there are many tools available, especially in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) where many crypto firms and exchanges are based, that enhance the prospect of recovery.

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A Florida federal judge has sentenced Benjamin Forrest McConley to 13 years in prison for defrauding film and theater investors and producers out of millions of dollars. Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Sheehan, who represents one of the victims and whose team brought the case to the U.S. Department of Justice, spoke to the court in comments later quoted in Law360.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) aggressive response to Coinbase’s proposed digital currency lending program has sparked criticism over its use of enforcement, rather than public notice and rulemaking, to engage with the crypto industry, including from Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sauter when he spoke with Law360.

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Zhang Jindong, billionaire founder of Chinese retailer Suning.com, is struggling to delay repayment of a US $600 million bond, even after a US $1.4 billion rescue plan led by the Jiangsu provincial government. Kobre & Kim’s Jason Kang, who focuses on claim monetization efforts in China, told the South China Morning Post what international investors will be keeping an eye on.

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The pandemic has accelerated the use of telehealth and digital health care services, attracting increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement activity. However, the sector faces an uncertain, complex and still developing patchwork of laws and regulations in the U.S. and around the world. Kobre & Kim’s Adriana Riviere-Badell and Alexandria Swette, both of whom have deep experience in health fraud, survey the legal landscape in an article for Law360.

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As Chinese real estate giant China Evergrande Group’s credit situation continues to deteriorate, Kobre & Kim’s John Han and Su Mien Tee, Hong Kong-based lawyers who focus on claim monetization in distressed industries, spoke with Reorg about Evergrande’s “ominous and rapidly unfolding” outlook.

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The Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (AFSL), recently passed by the Chinese National People’s Congress Standing Committee, indicates a hardening of the Chinese government’s position against foreign sanctions and enforcement. While imposing the AFSL threatens these foreign companies’ ability to operate in China and worries foreign investors and trading partners, fears may be assuaged by bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that could limit the scope of the law. Kobre & Kim’s Wade Weems and Chang Liu delve into this emerging dynamic in an article for Law.com International.

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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) second attempt at alleging Facebook of antitrust violations is already affecting the legal landscape. Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sirota, who focuses on government enforcement defense and is a former federal antitrust prosecutor, analyzed the new case when he spoke with Bloomberg Law.

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Chinese property developer Tahoe Group has been embroiled in financial crisis, facing a large-scale bond redemption and cross-default at over US $800 million for its dollar-denominated bonds alone. "No-action" clauses tie bondholders, but an exception at bond maturity gives many investors a chance to recoup a return. Kobre & Kim's John Han and Henry Cheung outline creative strategies beyond restructuring that can maximize returns in a blog post for Reorg. 

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The shutdown of a darknet blockchain analytics tool, Antinalysis, marks the ongoing showdown between malicious actors looking to launder their illicit digital assets, and the exchanges and law enforcement looking to stop them. Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sauter shared his thoughts on the future of these analytics tools when he sat down with Forkast News.

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In a chapter for Global Arbitration Review’s “The Arbitration Review of the Americas 2022,” Kobre & Kim’s Jef Klazen, Marcus Green and Chris Cogburn take a deep dive in the steps and nuances for parties looking to enforce an arbitration award in the United States.

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Kobre & Kim’s Polly Wilkins, who co-chairs the Women’s White Collar Defense Association’s (WWCDA) Young Professional’s Committee in London, was recently highlighted in the association’s quarterly newsletter as one of their rising stars.

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In 2020 alone, Chinese companies have signed 5,611 new contracts worth over US $141 billion as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. But with the relative recency of Chinese companies’ overseas investments comes increased legal risk exposure, particularly from the multilateral development banks (MDBs) that underpin many of these projects. Kobre & Kim’s Jason Kang and Jian Wu untangle the complexities in an article for Chinese news website Guancha News (观察者网).

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