Charles Russell has been appointed as external administrator of Awal Bank in Manama, Bahrain.
24 August 2009
The appointment, on 10th August, was made by the Central Bank of Bahrain in its statutory capacity as the banking regulator of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The appointment of a law firm as external administrator was seen by the Central Bank of Bahrain as both appropriate and cost effective given the number of legal cases the bank is either already involved in, or likely to become involved in.
Charles Russell LLP partners Clive Hopewell and James Hyne are leading the administration process with significant support from their other offices both in the UK and Geneva. Charles Russell is being closely assisted by Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP.
Clive Hopewell, partner responsible for the Bahrain office of Charles Russell, said: "We are delighted to be able to assist the Central Bank of Bahrain in this matter. We recognise the wide interest in the administration of Awal Bank, and the fact that there are numerous stakeholders in various jurisdictions who have an interest in this process".
James Hyne, Head of Insolvency & Corporate Recovery at Charles Russell added: "We are not yet able to determine how long the administration process will last, though we will establish this as quickly as possible. Awal had assets with a book value in excess of US$5 billion at the time of entering administration and we are seeking to verify the asset and creditor positions as a matter of urgency, along with a wide variety of ancillary issues that arise from this complex assignment"
Any creditor or stakeholder enquiries should be sent to awalbank-enquiries@charlesrussell.co.uk