Insolvency and business restructuring

Insolvency in Cameroon is governed by the OHADA Uniform Act on Collective Insolvency Proceedings, in force since 24 December 2015. It offers four procedures, and the choice among them is usually made too late.

The four procedures

• Conciliation, a confidential, out-of-court procedure for a business in difficulty that has not yet ceased payments
• Preventive settlement, for a business that is not yet in cessation of payments, suspending individual proceedings while a settlement is negotiated with creditors
• Judicial reorganization, where the business has ceased payments but recovery remains possible
• Liquidation of assets, where recovery is not possible

The Uniform Act also created a simplified regime for small businesses and introduced the regulated profession of insolvency trustee.

Our work includes

• Advising directors and officers on when a business is deemed to have ceased payments, and on the duty to declare it
• Preparing and presenting applications for conciliation and preventive settlement
• Representing creditors in filing, proving and ranking claims
• Advising secured creditors on the effect of proceedings on their security
• Challenging transactions made during the suspect period before the filing
• Directors' liability proceedings and, where relevant, criminal exposure for bankruptcy offenses