A bad idea for effective receivership

New confiscation laws coming into force this week will allow the state to seize businesses used to make scams or hide the proceeds of crime. However, the owners of such businesses could lose control of them long before a final conviction for fraud - as soon as an investigation begins.

Wszystko będzie zależało od prokuratora. Jeżeli dojdzie on do przekonania, że sprawa skończy się wyrokiem skazującym i są duże szanse na orzeczenie przepadku mienia, to według własnego uznania ustanowi w firmie zarząd przymusowy oraz wyznaczy zarządcę spośród osób posiadających licencję doradcy restrukturyzacyjnego.

Zgodnie z nowym przepisem kodeksu postępowania karnego (art. 292b) w grę wchodzi także zabezpieczenie przedsiębiorstwa należącego do podmiotu zbiorowego, jeśli zebrane dowody wskazują, że może on być pociągnięty do odpowiedzialności za czyn zabroniony. Innymi słowy, zarządca przymusowy wejdzie zarówno do small businesses będących własnością osoby fizycznej, jak i spółki akcyjnej notowanej na giełdzie.

For this reason, among others, the ministry wants to make the task of the investigators appointing counsel easier. However, it does so - as experts point out - ineptly.

Projekt nowelizacji ustawy o licencji restructuring adviser stawia kryteria ilościowe ponad jakościowymi.

In her view, an experienced restructuring advisor who has been conducting only a few large proceedings for a few years, despite objectively greater achievements, qualifications and professional preparation, will not be authorised.

Quantitative criterion

The solution to the problem in the opinion of specialists is simple. It would be sufficient to specify in the bill that an alternative prerequisite for obtaining the title of qualified restructuring adviser is to conduct bankruptcy proceedings with a certain total value of the bankruptcy estate (e.g. min. PLN 50 million).

However, this is not agreed to by the Ministry of Justice. The Justice Ministry argues that the awarding of best practice must be devoid of any arbitrariness. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to rely solely on the testimony of professionals. Because according to the reasoning of the officials, the more cases a counsellor has conducted, the better professional he/she is.

He points out that when dealing with large companies, it is important to have experience in all areas of the business as well as in raising finance. This knowledge, in turn, may be lacking for many advisers, even if they have conducted hundreds of proceedings.

In her view, it is difficult, after all, to imagine an adviser running an individual practice - even the best one - being in two places at the same time. And such a need often arises in large proceedings.

Material appeared in Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

24 April 2017:
" Bad idea for effective receivership