Dr Attila Bangha-Szabo, insolvency law expert at Pinsent Masons, was commenting following a recent decision by the CJEU that has drawn a line under a long-standing debate over cross-border clawback rights in Germany.
The dispute centres around an Austrian engineering company that was a shareholder in a German limited liability company (GmbH) based in Schwerin. The Austrian parent company granted several loans to the German GmbH in 2015, one of which was secured by assignment.
In 2015 and 2016, before insolvency proceedings were initiated in Germany, the German company repaid parts of the loan and the resulting interest to the Austrian company. Insolvency proceedings were opened against the German company on 1 October 2016.
After the…