Chinese Exile Guo Says Bankruptcy Trustee Is Conflicted

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui is questioning the Justice Department’s selection of a Paul Hastings LLP attorney to oversee his combative bankruptcy proceedings, claiming the firm has disqualifying ties to his largest creditor and the Chinese government.

Guo on Monday urged the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut to remove the attorney, Luc Despins, as trustee in his Chapter 11 proceedings, calling his appointment “unconscionable.” He argued that the US Trustee, the DOJ’s bankruptcy oversight program, “has shown that it is incapable of identifying and appointing a disinterested trustee in this case.”

Despins’ appointment is tainted by ...