Quote from: bitcoin.me on July 14, 2012, 04:19:48 AM

Quote from: jcp on July 14, 2012, 04:15:08 AM

Having friends paid out in full and then requesting that others take a 30% haircut sounds pretty darn illegal in nearly all jurisdictions involved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clawback if they are forced into liquidation the administrator can do this including any funds paid to employees like ZhouTong...I think any money he made when selling the site would be included.

The principle of a clawback is known and given, however there is a de facto legal principle of "Judgement Proof". Namely, if it is impossible to know who the principles involved are (present and former owners of bitcoinica) and/or the location of their funds, it's impossible to secure the proceeds of any judgement. It's become obvious that Zhoutong already understands the risk of a clawback, which is why he seems to have been advocating prompt return of funds to deposit holders for a while (assuming we take his actions at face value and is not colluding with the current "owner").

The reason I emphasized the payment in full and requesting others take a 30% haircut issue is because this may create material liability for the Bitcoin Consultancy people if they were involved in claims processing/payment.