A Clear Direction for a Complex Fund

The Client

A complex fund wind-up with assets valued at US$5 billion.

The Challenge

A contentious legal battle, coordinated in Jersey, for control of the assets, spread internationally. Extensive forensic accounting was required to gather assets prior to their sale. Involving numerous jurisdictions, work was carried out in Bermuda, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Russia.

Solution

Grant Thornton’s appointment as a restructuring advisor meant that asset recovery specialists were needed to demonstrate strong expertise. Services provided to the client included:

• Project management – to coordinate many advisors, stakeholders and company directors.
• International insolvency knowledge – to realise assets in many jurisdictions, understanding differing winding up procedures. Working with local company directors, financial regulators and FIUs.
• Legal knowledge – a number of legal systems were involved requiring instruction of local lawyers.
• Negotiation skills – a complex settlement to release various assets was then negotiated, requiring persons who were difficult to access but were critical to the outcome.
• Asset recovery skills – corporate intelligence and forensic accounting to trace and recover assets and individuals through a complex web of companies.
• Hostile security protection – to ensure the integrity of the project, security was obtained to protect our personnel, premises and company records against attack.

Results

Following an intense period of four years, the assignment was successfully concluded.