Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd

O’Melveny acted for Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd (Suntech), at the time the world’s largest producer of crystalline silicone solar power units, in multi-jurisdictional litigation arising from a major fraud. The fraud involved a €550 million financing transaction under which Suntech guaranteed the borrower’s repayment obligations, with Suntech’s rights against the borrower secured by a pledge of German government bonds. As a result of an investigation carried out by O’Melveny, it became clear that the bonds did not in fact exist and that Suntech was the victim of a fraud. O’Melveny formulated and executed a multi-jurisdictional litigation strategy by commencing legal proceedings simultaneously in London, Singapore and Luxemburg without notice to any of the alleged fraudsters. In London we successfully persuaded the court to grant an injunction freezing assets up to the value of €500 million anywhere in the world. In Singapore we obtained similar interim relief, as well as the appointment of a receiver over the assets of one of the corporate defendants, and in Luxemburg we sought approval from the court and financial services regulator to change the management of a Luxemburg investment fund associated with one of the alleged fraudsters. As a result of this coordinated legal action in three different jurisdictions, we were able to freeze assets belonging to the alleged fraudsters all over the world (including real estate, bank accounts and business interests); procure the appointment of an administrator over the Luxemburg fund; and obtain documents and electronic data which could be used to support the substantive fraud allegations and to provide further information about the nature and location of assets owned by the defendants.