Ashok Kumar

With over 30 years of experience, I am internationally recognised as a specialist in restructuring and insolvency for corporates having acted in many high-profile cases across jurisdictions, as Singapore counsel and international counsel. I am very involved in the development of law and practice in this area internationally and domestically.

Handling both the contentious and non-contentious aspects of this practice on cross-border as well as domestic deals, I regularly act for debtors, creditors, financial institutions, funds and insolvency professionals, providing practical solutions when companies are in a distress or near-distress situation.

I have been recognised as a leading lawyer in various reputable directories, including Chambers Asia-Pacific, IFLR 1000, Benchmark Litigation, Legal 500, Asialaw, Who’s Who Legal, and Best Lawyers International. I am also an adjunct lecturer at the Singapore Management University, a board member of the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore (IPAS), a board member of the Singapore Global Restructuring Initiative (SGRI), and hold several appointments in INSOL International and the International Insolvency Institute (III). I sit as a III representative in the UNCITRAL Working Group V.  

I have also contributed significant time and resources towards the development of the corporate restructuring and insolvency law and practice in Singapore and Asia Pacific. I sit on various committees in law reform and practice development in restructuring and insolvency. I am also one of the founders of the former boutique special situations firm BlackOak LLC.

• Advising and representing Singapore-incorporated debtor companies of FTX, previously one of the biggest players in the crypto industry valued at USD 32 billion, in US Chapter 11 proceedings in the aftermath of the high-profile FTX exchange collapse.
• Acting as Singapore counsel to the Century Sunshine Group entities and advising the appointed liquidators in relation to the Group’s cross-border restructuring.
• Acted for the liquidators of OCAP Management Pte. Ltd. (in compulsory liquidation), in connection with the highly publicized Wirecard scandal, in relation to the restrain of US$8.63 million under the Mutual Assistance In Criminal Matters Act 2000 (“MACMA”) against the backdrop of the Wirecard fraud scandal. For the first time, the Singapore court laid down the principles involving the paragraph 14(2) exception of the Third Schedule to the MACMA.
• Advising a prominent French shipping group providing surface and subsea marine services on matters of Singapore law, including the potential recognition of the French conciliation proceedings and/or accelerated safeguard proceedings in Singapore.
• Advising on the restructuring of a leading data centre solutions provider of data centre maintenance services in relation to a syndicated term loan facility.

• Acting for the Duniatex Group in proceedings for the recognition of PKPU orders and, subsequently, the Indonesian restructuring plan in respect of the Group in Singapore under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency and common law.
• Acting as Singapore counsel for an Ad Hoc Committee of Noteholders and certain other lenders of CFG Investment SAC (China Fisheries) in relation to the restructuring of its USD300 million, 9.75% senior unsecured notes due 2019.
• Acting as counsel for an informal steering committee of Noteholders in Singapore’s Hyflux Group’s USD 2 billion restructuring exercise.
• Acting in the milestone case of Ascentra Holdings, Inc (in official liquidation) v SPGK PTE LTD [2023] SGCA 32, where the Singapore Court of Appeal held that the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency should be interpreted broadly to include foreign proceedings concerning companies that are neither insolvent nor severely financial distressed.
• Advising and assisting the liquidators of 3 Arrows Capital (“3AC”), a prominent Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund, in relation to their ongoing investigations and potential claims, and successfully compelled Luna Foundation Guard and Terraform to provide the necessary information regarding 3AC’s assets.