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Without clear instructions from the Bankruptcy Code on what to do with the unclaimed money that is too small to distribute among a liquidated company’s creditors, ABI is encouraging members to donate the money to the organization’s own nonprofit endowment fund, the Wall Street Journal reported today. “Rather than having it [turn over] to the state, why not recycle it into the bankruptcy community?” said ABI executive director Sam Gerdano. ABI has a 131-word passage posted on its website that bankruptcy attorneys can copy and paste into creditor payout plans to direct the money to the fund, which pays for scholarship and bankruptcy research. The trade group’s initiative comes at a time when many restructuring professionals are confused over what to do with unexpected leftover money in a liquidating chapter 11 bankruptcy case. That money can come from uncashed creditor checks, tax rebates or returned utility deposits. ABI’s endowment fund pays for bankruptcy-related research into topics such as the high fees in corporate bankruptcy cases or the cost of bankruptcy for individuals. “In lieu of people throwing around anecdotes or impressions or first-hand experiences, we provided data-supported conclusions,” said University of Maine Law Professor and Bankruptcy Attorney Lois Lupica.

For more information about donating unclaimed liquidation funds to the ABI Endowment Fund, please click here: http://endowment.abi.org/unclaimed

Vodka seller Central European Distribution Corp., headed by Russian billionaire Roustam Tariko, won court approval of its pre-packaged restructuring plan a little more than a month after filing for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi approved the Warsaw, Poland-based company’s reorganization plan that cuts debt by about $665 million at a hearing today in Wilmington, Delaware, according to court documents. The company expects that it will be able to close on the restructuring transactions on or about May 31, according to the statement. Regulatory agencies in CEDC’s key markets of Poland, Russia and Ukraine already have given their approvals to the deal.

MF Global on Friday won court approval of a plan to liquidate its assets, pay back creditors and end the $40 billion bankruptcy that rocked the financial world in 2011, Reuters reported on Friday. The commodities brokerage, run by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, collapsed after investors were spooked by its exposure to about $6.3 billion in European sovereign debt. The approval marked a major step in ending the massive chapter 11 filing, as MF Global is now able to implement the plan and pay creditors. The case became a political firestorm after it was discovered that about $1.6 billion was missing from the accounts of the broker's commodities trader customers. Regulators later determined that MF Global had misappropriated the customer money to cover liquidity gaps as it faltered.

Southern Air Holdings Inc., an air-cargo company that transported troops into Afghanistan, won court permission to exit bankruptcy under the control of a group of lenders led by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi approved the company's reorganization plan yesterday, less than six months after seeking court protection from creditors. Its former owner, Oak Hill Capital Partners LP, will retain 17.5 percent of the company and appoint one person to the new, five-member board, Southern Air attorney Brian Rosen of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP said after the hearing.

Michigan’s attorney general is objecting to bankrupt A123 Systems Inc.’s plan on how to pay back its creditors, saying that it calls for the improper transfer of $125 million in tax credits provided by the state, Reuters reported yesterday. The objection represents the latest wrinkle in a difficult and politically charged chapter 11 process for A123, the lithium-ion car battery maker that got $249 million in federal grants. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed his objection on Wednesday in bankruptcy court, reiterating concerns he first raised in November over the proposed credit transfer. The company is seeking to shift $125.3 million in Michigan tax credits to the U.S. unit of Wanxiang Group, which acquired Waltham, Mass.-based A123 in January. Michigan had provided the credits in 2009 as incentives for A123 to construct facilities in the state and create jobs for Michigan residents. A123 made headlines again in January, when its $260 million deal to sell itself to Wanxiang’s U.S. unit was met with warnings from some lawmakers that the deal would transfer sensitive technology developed with U.S. government money to a foreign-owned company. The U.S. government approved the deal on Jan. 28. The case is A123 Systems Inc., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 12-12859.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. said on Friday that it expects to complete its bankruptcy restructuring by the end of the month, after a judge approved its chapter 11 plan, the Orange County Business Journal reported on Friday. The automaker, part of Japan-based Suzuki Motor Corp., filed for bankruptcy late last year. The company eventually plans to stop vehicle sales in the U.S. as a result of a number of challenges it has faced, including low sales and a limited vehicle lineup. In the meantime, the company said that it will continue to focus on growing its U.S. Motorcycles/ATV and Marine divisions.

A resort group owned by hedge fund Paulson & Co. won approval for a plan to exit bankruptcy by selling properties to a Singapore sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. MSR Resort Golf Course LLC's plan was confirmed on Friday by Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane, who overruled objections by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and investor Five Mile Capital Partners LLC. Government of Singapore Investment Corp., the world’s eighth-largest sovereign wealth fund, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, is set to buy four of MSR's resorts for $1.5 billion. The IRS and Five Mile alleged that the sale created a tax liability of as much as $331 million that may not be paid.

Hawker Beechcraft said yesterday that it has emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy, calling itself "Beechcraft" and claiming that it is stronger and more financially stable, according to ArkansasBusiness.com. The company said that its reorganization plan had been approved by a bankruptcy court on Feb. 1 and became effective on Friday. Beechcraft says that it will focus on its profitable turboprop, piston, special mission and trainer/attack aircraft businesses. It said that it received $600 million in permanent financing, including a $425 million term loan facility and a $175 million revolving facility.

Hawker Beechcraft Inc. won court approval on Friday of its plan to exit bankruptcy under the control of a group of hedge funds, a ruling that the company hopes will lead to it being out of chapter 11 by the end of February, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein signed off on the company's plan after the company changed the wording of the official plan document related to the worthless equity of operating subsidiary Hawker Beechcraft Corp. The proposal confirmed by the judge calls for hedge-fund managers Centerbridge Partners, Angelo, Gordon & Co., Capital Research & Management and Bain Capital's Sankaty Advisors to exchange $921.6 million in debt for an 81.1 percent equity stake in the reorganized Hawker. Senior bondholders, owed $510.2 million, would get between nine and 10 cents on the dollar, while subordinate debtholders, owed $308.3 million, would be wiped out.

A bankruptcy court on Thursday will review a proposal by MF Global’s trustee that would return 93 percent of the firm's missing money to customers, the New York Times DealBook blog reported today. The trustee who has submitted the proposal, James W. Giddens, has also identified a way that, if sent to the judge and approved, could plug the remaining shortfall for customers in the U.S. If a series of settlements with JPMorgan and other firms fall into place, people involved in the case said, Giddens could ultimately return 100 percent of MF Global's missing money. To plug the gap, he must also pursue a small pot of money sitting in MF Global's general estate, a move that would require court approval. Even if he takes that path, foreign clients will still face significant shortfalls.