Hong Kong : The legal fight over control of Thailand property assets co-owned by Lehman Brothers has escalated to involve HSBC and Aberdeen Asset Management, two of the UK's biggest financial groups.
Thai police have issued warrants against local units of HSBC and Aberdeen in relation to their roles administering collateral or assets on behalf of Lehman, a move which could further hamper the work of liquidators of the failed US bank.
Three senior executives of KPMG in Hong Kong were in September 2008 appointed liquidators of eight Hong Kong-based Lehman units, one of which had invested in property deals across Thailand.
The action against HSBC and Aberdeen is part of increasingly muscular attempts by Thai creditors, many of whom believe they have right of first refusal to purchase Lehman assets, to derail the KPMG-led liquidation process.
Among them are Bangkok-based Destination Properties, which co-invested in five Thai hotel developments with Lehman Brothers Commercial Corporation Asia.
In response to submissions by Destination Properties, the crime suppression division of the Royal Thai police has issued warrants against HSBC to surrender collateral held for debentures part funded by LBCCA, including land titles, shares and documentation, and to freeze any related activity.
Thai police have also instructed Aberdeen to surrender all assets and registrar activity in relation to the Siam Hotel Property fund, which was jointly founded by LBCCA and Destination Properties. Aberdeen is the external administrator of the fund.
HSBC and Aberdeen have not been accused of any wrongdoing but local analysts said that the warrants could severely constrain their ability to administer their Lehman-related duties.
HSBC confirmed that it had received a request from Thai Police to provide documents "relating to the transaction between Destination Properties and Lehman Brothers" in its capacity as debenture holder.
— Financial Times
