Singapore Court Recognises Foreign Bankruptcy Order for the First Time
This case involved a Japanese company director named Masahiko Nishiyama who had been sued and made bankrupt in Japan to the tune of 43 billion yen (S$570 million). In order to evade the judgment and enforcement proceedings, he had dissipated his assets on a massive worldwide scale. This included stashing approximately US$90 million (S$124 million) in three banks in Singapore: Standard Chartered Bank, Bank Julius Baer and Credit Suisse AG.
Nishiyama was sent to prison in Japan for his criminal misdeeds, but this still left his trustee in bankruptcy with having to pursue his assets. We were appointed to assist with this process.
The first step was to persuade the Singapore High Court to recognise the bankruptcy order that had been made in the Kyoto District Court in Japan. Before this, there were no known cases where the Singapore courts have recognised a foreign bankruptcy order. We therefore had to make novel arguments based on first principles and draw analogies to insolvency proceedings involving the winding up of companies.
We also had to convince the Court that there were indeed assets in Singapore worth pursuing. This was a complicated task as the majority of the monies stashed by Nishiyama in Singapore was not held through accounts in his own name, but through a complicated web of corporate entities incorporated in offshore jurisdictions such as Samoa and the British Virgin Islands.
Ultimately, the Singapore court agreed with our arguments and granted recognition of the Japanese bankruptcy order, thus allowing the Japanese trustee in bankruptcy to proceed to call in US$90 million worth of assets.
Recent Resources
Road Traffic Act: Updated Framework for Repeat Drink Driving Offences
March 14, 2024
Introduction In December 2023, a significant judgment was handed down in the case of Lee Shin Nan v Public Prosecutor [2023] SGHC 354 (“Lee Shin Nan”) which introduced a new framework for sentencing repeat drink driving offenders in Singapore. Here’s an overview of the sentencing process under this new framework. Stage 1: Starting Sentence Range […]
Eugene Thuraisingam LLP X Founders Doc: What is defamation from the case of Rachel Wong v Olivia Wu?
March 6, 2024
In a video collaboration between Eugene Thuraisingam LLP and Founders Doc, our Suang Wijaya and corporate lawyer Rachel Wong came together to share their insights into defamation laws in Singapore and how they were applied to the notable defamation lawsuit of Wong Leng Si Rachel v Wu Su Han Olivia [2022] SGHC 15. With the […]
Eugene Thuraisingam as a Guest on the LegalCentred podcast
March 1, 2024
In February, our partner, Eugene Thuraisingam was invited as a guest on the flagship podcast series, The Lawcast, run by the student-initiated project LegalCentred. He shared about his long-standing career in litigation, including his extensive experience in criminal defence and public interest matters. LegalCentred is a student-initiated project that aims to increase the accessibility and […]
February 13, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Eugene Thuraisingam, Johannes Hadi and Ng Yuan Siang have co-authored the Singapore chapter of Lexology Panoramic’s Anti-Bribery & Corruption Guide 2024. The publication is a market-leading guide providing an overview of both domestic and international anti-bribery and corruption laws. The guide is designed for use by corporations and legal […]
February 8, 2024
Introduction Under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, which punishes a person who commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder, a judge has a range of sentencing options – caning, jail term of up to 20 years, and life imprisonment. A father kills his two autistic sons,[1] a schoolboy kills his schoolmate,[2] and both the […]
