Insolvency insights in South Square Digest special edition with INSOL International

This special edition of the South Square Digest features collaborative articles with members of INSOL International, with a particular emphasis on transaction avoidance.

Read the latest insights from Scott Atkins, Partner and President of INSOL International; Noel McCoy, Partner and member of INSOL International; and Lee Pascoe, Special Counsel and member of INSOL International.

Evidence gathering in relation to transaction avoidance in an insolvency

Noel McCoy and Stefanie Wilkins

This article will examine the tools that are available in England and Australia to appointees to an insolvent corporation (with particular focus on liquidators) – including cross border tools. While the discussion is focussed on those two jurisdictions in particular, similar considerations will apply in other jurisdictions, especially those that are part of the common law tradition or have enacted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency (Model Law).

Read the full article on page 34.

Net Zero Gains Pace: what the move to net zero emissions mean for businesses, directors and the insolvency landscape in Australia and the United Kingdom

Scott Atkins and Hilary Stonefrost

As the move to net zero emissions intensifies following COP26, questions and legal issues arise for directors and businesses in how they navigate this process. There are opportunities and risks ahead for entities as they begin or continue the net zero transition, which will likely require the involvement of restructuring and insolvency practitioners. This article explores the challenges and opportunities ahead in 2022 as the move to net zero gains pace. 

Read the full article on page 44

Antecedent Transactions and Cryptocurrency: The Australian and English Perspectives

Lee Pascoe and Peter Burgess

It is only a matter of time before insolvency professionals are faced with a corporate insolvency involving cryptocurrency within the insolvency estate. Given their increasing use and acceptance, it is also becoming more likely that when approaching insolvency an insolvent company may have entered into transactions using cryptocurrencies with the view to putting such assets out of reach of creditors. This article looks at what the authors consider to be a likely potential scenario, namely where a company converts liquid assets of a company (such as cash) into cryptocurrency and transfers it to a director or related party. This could appear to bad actors to be a quick, efficient, and effective, means of diverting assets away from creditors in the period leading up to liquidation. 

Read the full article on page 52