Insights

A typical instance of bribery occurs when an officer of a company bribes an official or politician. But who is the victim here – the company, whose assets were misappropriated, or the state, whose official abused his power? In English common law jurisdictions, the answer decides who receives any recovered assets, as Kobre & Kim’s Andrew Stafford KC and Evelyn Sheehan wrote in an analysis for International Comparative Legal Guides’ “Business Crime 2022.”

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Moody’s estimates that non-performing loans (NPLs) across 14 APAC economies will double by 2022, including in China and India. What opportunities does this present to investors? Kobre & Kim’s John Han, who focuses on distressed debt in Asia Pacific, will discuss during a virtual panel at the 3rd Global NPL Conference at 10:30 am Berlin time / 9:30 am London time / 4:30 pm Hong Kong time, October 5, 2021.

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With the signing of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was able to leave Canada, where she was held pending extradition to the United States. Kobre & Kim’s William McGovern, a former prosecutor focused on government enforcement matters with a nexus to Asia, offered his analysis of the case when he sat down with Foreign Policy.

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Chinese property giant Evergrande Group’s possible default, with its US $300 billion worth of liabilities and missed interest payment on one of its US-dollar bonds on September 23, has shaken global financial markets. Kobre & Kim’s John Han, who focuses on the monetization of distressed debt in Greater China, diagnosed the prospects for offshore investors when he spoke with the Financial Times.

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Despite engaging with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before launching its stablecoin lending platform, Coinbase abandoned the project when faced with the agency’s unexpectedly negative reaction. Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sauter, who represents clients in the cryptocurrency industry against government enforcement actions, offered his thoughts on the case when he sat down with Compliance Week.

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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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