Companies Act 2014 section 557

Power of court to order the return of assets which have been improperly transferred

Section 557 deals with the court's power to order the return of company property that was disposed of fraudulently while the company is under the protection of the court during an examinership.

• An examiner may apply to court where company property has been disposed of in any manner and that disposal amounted to a fraud on the company, its creditors, or its members.
• If satisfied, the court may order any person who has the use, control, or possession of the property (or its proceeds) to deliver it up or pay a sum in respect of it to the examiner, on whatever terms the court considers appropriate.
• This provision does not apply where the transaction in question falls under section 604, which deals with unfair preferences in the context of winding up.
• In deciding whether to make such an order, the court must consider the rights of any person who has genuinely and for value acquired an interest in the property concerned.