Co-authored with John Pirie, Usman Sheikh and Michael Garellek
The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-29, (Bill) to establish Canada’s “Financial Crimes Agency” (Agency) under the oversight of the Minister of Finance. The agency’s mandate is to
In fraud cases, one of the most powerful tools in a plaintiff’s toolbox is to seek an asset freezing order (a Mareva injunction) from the courts. But to obtain such an order—which is normally granted without notice (ex parte) to
A Court may grant a Mareva order (sometimes referred to as a freezing order) when there is a risk that a defendant could move its assets out of the court’s reach, potentially leaving the plaintiff unable to collect damages. In
On July 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada provided clarity regarding the treatment of administrative monetary penalties and disgorgement orders resulting from securities violations in Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission).
Thalbinder Singh Poonian, Shallu Poonian and others contravened
On November 29, 2024, the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba in WSIB Investments (Infrastructure) Pooled Fund Trust v. Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd., awarded over $259 million to the plaintiffs (an employee pension fund and injured workers fund). The
In the summer of 2024, Baker McKenzie obtained a trial judgment in fraud in CHU De Québec-Université Laval v. Tree of Knowledge International Corp. This decision provides clarity on the application of the “recklessness” standard in civil fraud claims. It
The bankruptcy of Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed ‘Crypto King’ began on August 9, 2022, with a court application brought by Baker McKenzie on behalf of a group of investors. This case garnered significant media attention due to the conduct of
As we enter 2025, we look back on five important decisions that made the news in 2024. Here is the the first case.
On October 11, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released two decisions, Aquino v Bondfield Construction Co.
Can a lender challenge debtors’ transactions with a parent company as fraudulent conveyances when the debtors had disclosed the transactions before the loan was advanced? In NYDIG ABL LLC v IE CA 3 Holdings Ltd, the Supreme Court of
The general rule in bankruptcy is that a debtor receives a “fresh start” and is discharged from prior debts, but this is subject to certain exceptions. Subsection 178(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) sets out eight classes of debts that are