Al-Gosaibi subsidiary gets bankruptcy protection

14 January 2010

The International Banking Corporation gains protection from litigation in US

Bahrain’s The International Banking Corporation (TIBC) has been granted a ruling by the US Bankruptcy Court that will protect the company from further litigation regarding its default on over $2bn of debt.

The company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian conglomerate Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi & Brothers, was granted a ruling that recognises Bahrain as the main jurisdiction of bankruptcy proceedings. It will allow UK law firm Trowers & Hamlins, which is acting as administrator of TIBC, to move ahead with selling the bank’s assets to settle its debts.

Al-Gosaibi is itself in default on several billions of dollars of debt and is locked in a legal dispute relating to its debt problems with another Saudi conglomerate, Saad Group.

A spokesman for TIBC says the latest US court ruling is unlikely to have any effect on the wider legal proceedings surroundings Al-Gosaibi and the Saad Group, although the full impact of the decision is still uncertain.

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