THE Hong Kong arm of the defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce (BCC) International has won a judgment in New York allowing about US$25 million to be brought back to the territory from US banks to boost next month's payment to creditors.
The deposits held by the Bank of New York and American Express Bank are the largest sums outstanding, after debtors, to BCC (Hong Kong), which was closed after a worldwide swoop amid allegations of money-laundering, cocaine-financing and much more.
Gabriel Tam, one of the special managers assisting the liquidation, said it was good news for about 5,000 former customers, who have so far received 51 per cent of deposits.
''BCC (Hong Kong) deposited amounts with banks worldwide and this is the biggest of the amounts outstanding,'' he said.
Although the cash was deposited by BCC (Hong Kong), the US banks wanted approval from a New York bankruptcy court to transfer the cash back.
They feared claims against the cash could also have been filed by those winding up the bank's operations in the US, Luxembourg or elsewhere.
Yesterday a crucial test case started in the High Court between BCC (Hong Kong) and William Young Hong-yui on the unclear legal issue of set-off.