Issue #28 : Let’s Hit Pause
Welcome to the 28th edition of Overheard in Asia!
Here are the 🌶 headlines:
China: Tesla sues a Chinese chip designer and auto parts maker for alleged IP infringement
China: Xiamen court argues that cryptocurrency is legally protected property in China
Hong Kong: Court of Final Appeal orders the government to establish laws recognising same-sex partnerships
Japan: Japanese investors sue MUFG brokerage JV over Credit Suisse AT1 sales
Philippines: Nobel laureate Maria Ressa & her news platform Rappler were acquitted in tax fraud case
South Korea: South Korean authorities commence criminal investigations against executives at AirKorea Limited and Boeing Korea LLC
Ling Yah
P/S: Know of any interesting seminars happening? Drop us a note at editor@overheard.asia!
Fraud Fraud Fraud!
Pfizer is facing another Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charge and this time, the whistleblower comes in the form of its former director of Global Compliance Analytics.
🍿 Background
Frank Han worked for Pfizer from May 2017 to November 2022.
In 2021, Frank was in the process of developing a new algorithm to analyse Pfizer’s global external funding to detect fraud when he discovered that Pfizer had spent “over ten times the amount of money” on potentially influential government officials in China.
This amounted to $168 million between Q2 2019 and Q3 2021 ($138 million went to corporate sponsorships), compared to $21 million in the US, $11 million in Canada, $7.5 million in Russia and $7.1 million in the UK.
After raising these compliance concerns and potential FCPA violations with his supervisors, Frank claimed that he saw no evidence of a company investigation being initiated. Instead, he received several negative performance reviews before being served a “Final Notice of Underperformance” and was ultimately fired on 4 November 2022.
🚨Now
Frank has filed a civil complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco, which has since been moved to the California federal court, claiming inter alia that he was unlawfully terminated for identifying potential FCPA violations in China.
Given that it’s not Pfizer’s first time in (similar) hot soup, we’ll see whether things shake out the way it has before!
A Hefty Loan!
How the stars have fallen.
🍿 What Happened?
Indian edtech giant, Byju, was once deemed India’s most valuable startup at USD 22 billion.
In June, Byju sued US-based investment management firm Redwood over the acceleration of a USD 1.2 billion term loan B facility and sought to disqualify the lenders on grounds of “predatory tactics”. It claimed that Redwood had acquired a substantial portion of the loan in violation of the loan facility conditions.
A group of ad hoc lenders (who collectively own over 85% of Byju’s term loans) argued that the lawsuit lacked merit and was an attempt to evade its contractual obligations, which included interest payments. Byju’s US entity, Byju’s Alpha, was earlier sued in Delaware on behalf of the lenders.
🚨 Now
Byju & its lenders have agreed to delay their ongoing US dispute until 6 October to attempt to reach an out-of-court settlement.
Last week, Byju made a surprise repayment proposal to pay back its entire USD 1.2 billion term loan in less than 6 months.
This repayment will apparently be funded by the sale of its overseas units. Specifically:
Epics! Creations Inc., which Byju had acquired for USD 500 million; and
Great Learning Education Pte., which Byju had previously acquired for USD 600 million.
Let’s see whether these latest rounds of negotiations will actually go through!
Trial in Secrecy
It’s a terrible time to be a journalist in Myanmar, which is currently the world’s second biggest jailer of journalists (behind only China) and ranks 176th out of 180 countries on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index.
The most recent case concerns Sai Zaw Thaike, a photojournalist for Myanmar Now (an underground news agency).
He covered the damage of Cyclone Mocha, the country’s most destructive storm in at least a decade which resulted in at least 148 deaths in the Rakhine state (many of them a part of the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority).
For that coverage, Sai Zaw Thaike, was arrested on 23 May and indicted for inter alia sedition, incitement, online defamation and violation of a natural disaster management law for allegedly spreading false information about a disaster with the intention of causing public panic.
The trial took place inside Insein prison and he has since been sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labour - possibly the harshest penalty against any journalist since the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government back in February 2021.
Spotlight: Rajendra Navaratnam (Partner, Azman, Davidson & Co)
⚒️ What do you do?
My current roles are Counsel and Arbitrator and I lead a disputes team in my firm Azman, Davidson & Co. I enjoy the mix these two roles which give me satisfaction in different ways – the cut and thrust of civilised combat and competition as Counsel and the soft skills of getting Counsel to pull together with me as Arbitrator to resolve disputes in the most efficient way.
The common thread in both roles when I can get it is the challenge of cracking technical disputes, which I enjoy, and which probably stems from my past life as an engineer!
🏆 What is your proudest achievement?
Professionally, as Counsel in getting satisfaction for the Plaintiffs in the Highland Towers case where we were the underfinanced underdogs and ranged against us were top lawyers, world renowned experts and consultants retained by the defendants which included a bank. Thankfully justice prevailed, although I have a sneaky feeling that it wasn’t due to my brilliant advocacy but rather there were greater forces at work!
As Arbitrator, being appointed one of Malaysia’s two members of the ICC Court of Arbitration.
Personally, in my two sons who have been groomed by their (tiger) mum to represent Malaysia in chess, with the elder one now a FIDE International Master, while I bask in the reflected glory (and pay the bills for their travels to exotic locations for chess tournaments!)
⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
To practice guitar which I’ve always made solemn promises to myself to do but have never kept up, which explains why I am still a sorry beginner.
🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?
I love tinkering with stuff and repairing them, from computers to TVs to old iPhones, so possibly a technician? But my wife tells me I should keep my day job...
😋 Your favourite food haunt
Serendib in G Tower Kuala Lumpur for authentic Sri Lankan food. Their sweet apam (hoppers) freshly made with jagary (brown sugar) is to die for!
Food Feature
If you're ever in Bangkok, check out Sorn (ศรณ์).
Tucked in Sukhumvit Soi, the fine dining restaurant ranked No. 2 in Asia’s top 50 restaurants and is known to be difficult to secure a reservation. With just one menu, you can expect to savour 14 courses (about 22 dishes) of exquisite Southern Thai cuisine - each cooked with intricacy and dedication.
For those who have lower spice tolerance, you might want to let the chef know - Southern Thai food can get rather hot! Service is attentive and brilliant.
Only downside is that parking is limited, so you might have to park at the hotel nearby or get there in a taxi.
Details: Facebook Google Maps
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Special thanks to Overheard in Asia's sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!