Court of Appeal Holds Article 23(9) Bars Foreign Representatives from Pursuing Pre-Model Law Claims

In Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners Ltd v Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Ltd [2026] SGCA 12, the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals by the liquidators of two BVI companies allegedly implicated in the 1MDB fraud, who sought standing to bring fraudulent and wrongful trading claims against two local banks.

The Court held that Article 23(9) of the Singapore Model Law imposes an absolute prohibition against foreign representatives pursuing avoidance and misconduct claims for transactions predating the Model Law's enactment, and that the court's broad discretion under Article 21(1)(g) to grant "appropriate relief" cannot be used as an alternative gateway to circumvent this temporal bar. Directors Kong Man Er, Gerald Tay and Sim Bing Wen discuss this decision in this update.

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