郭文贵破产案 · ORDER · ECF #807-2

# **EXHIBIT A**

## **UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION**

| ------------------------------------------------------ | x | | |--------------------------------------------------------|-------------|-------------------------| | In re: | :<br>: | Chapter 11 | | HO WAN KWOK, | :<br>:<br>: | Case No. 22-50073 (JAM) | | Debtor. | :<br>: | | | ------------------------------------------------------ | x | |

## **DECLARATION OF ANDREW THORP IN SUPPORT OFAPPLICATION OF CHAPTER 11 TRUSTEE FOR ENTRY OF ORDER, PURSUANT TO BANKRUPTCY CODE SECTIONS 327, 328, AND 330, BANKRUPTCY RULES 2014 AND 2016, AND LOCAL BANKRUPTCY RULES 2014-1 AND 2016-1, AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING RETENTION AND EMPLOYMENT OF EMPLOYMENT OF HARNEY WESTWOOD AND RIEGELS LP, AS BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COUNSEL TO THE CHAPTER 11 TRUSTEE**

I, Andrew Thorp, being duly sworn, do depose and say:

1. I am Partner employed in the Dispute Resolution department of Harney Westwood & Riegels LP ("Harneys"), Craigmuir Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands ("BVI"), and I make this declaration in support of the *Application of Chapter 11 Trustee for Entry of Order, Pursuant to Sections 327, 328, and 330 of the Bankruptcy Code, Bankruptcy Rules 2014 and 2016, and Local Bankruptcy Rules 2014-1 and 2016-1, Authorizing and Approving Retention and Employment of Harneys as BVI Counsel to the Chapter 11 Trustee* in the above-captioned chapter 11 case (the "Chapter 11 Case") of Ho Wan Kwok (the "Debtor").

2. Harneys is a global offshore law firm that maintains an office in the British Virgin Islands. Harneys was founded in 1960 and has a widely diversified practice including dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law, private wealth, funds, banking and finance and

regulatory and tax. The Dispute Resolution Department currently employs 21 lawyers, who are assisted by six paralegals.

3. Harneys has expertise in practice areas including insolvency, restructuring, fraud, arbitration, bankruptcy, investigations, corporate crimes and fraud, corporate and commercial litigation matters. Harneys is well suited for the type of representation required by the Chapter 11 Trustee. Its BVI litigation and insolvency practice includes 21 attorneys. Harneys has substantial resources and expertise in the areas of the law that may arise in this case.

4. Harneys has specific and relevant experience in the representation of liquidators and trustees including trustees in bankruptcy proceedings, and have provided advice on complex and litigious (and potentially litigious) issues that arise in the course of the administration of trusts and regularly appear before the British Virgin Islands courts. Harneys has experience with liaising and working cooperatively with overseas lead counsel by assisting with compliance with BVI rules and procedures, attending to routine and administrative matters as they arise, and otherwise providing services as may be required by lead counsel and in the best interests of its clients, all in a manner that promotes efficiency and avoids any unnecessary duplication of efforts by counsel. Considering the foregoing, Harneys is equipped to provide services as BVI counsel to the extent that the need arises.

5. Harneys intends to apply to the Court for compensation for professional services rendered and for reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with this Chapter 11 Case pursuant to sections 330 and 331 of the Bankruptcy Code, Bankruptcy Rule 2016, Local Bankruptcy Rule 2016-1, and any other applicable rules and orders with respect to this Chapter 11 Case. Harneys will charge the Chapter 11 Trustee for its legal services on an hourly basis at its regularly applicable hourly rates in connection with the services required in this Chapter 11 Case.

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6. At present, the 2022 hourly rates of Harneys are \$150.00 - \$275.00 for paralegal work; \$400.00 - \$800.00 for associates and counsel; and up to \$1050.00 for partners of the firm. Harney's hourly rates are subject to periodic adjustments to reflect economic and other conditions.¹ It is anticipated that Harneys services will primarily be provided by Andrew Thorp, whose hourly rate is \$1050.00, Olga Osadchaya whose hourly rate is \$800 and Gerrard Tin, whose hourly rate is \$475.00.

7. Harneys will also bill for out-of-pocket expenses made on behalf of the Chapter 11 Trustee, including photocopying, filing fees and international couriers, in accordance with practices in this District.

8. To the best of my knowledge and belief after due inquiry, neither I, nor Harneys, nor any member or associate thereof, represents professionally, or has any connection with, the Debtor, his creditors, any other party-in-interest, their respective attorneys and accountants, the United States Trustee, or any person employed in the Office of the United States Trustee.

9. I attach to this Declaration, as Schedule 1, a consolidated list of parties in interest in connection with the Debtor's chapter 11 case that includes:

- a. parties listed as creditors, executory contract counterparties, and codebtors on the Debtor's Schedules D, F, G, and H [Docket No. 78]; - b. parties listed on the Debtor's Statement of Financial Affairs ("SOFA")

¹ Harneys hourly rates are typically revised at the end of each calendar year to reflect experience, seniority, and standing. These step increases do not constitute "rate increases" (as the term is used in the *Guidelines for Reviewing Applications for Compensation and Reimbursement of Expenses Filed Under 11 U.S.C. § 330 by Attorneys in Larger Chapter 11 Cases Effective as of November 1, 2013*) (the "U.S. Trustee Guidelines"). As set forth in the Proposed Order, Harneys will provide ten business days' notice to the Debtor, the Assistant United States Trustee for the District of Connecticut (the "U.S. Trustee"), and counsel to the Committee and any other official committee, before implementing periodic increases, and shall file any such notice with the Court.

[Docket No. 77], including (i) as recipients of payments within 90 days prior to the filing of the chapter 11 case (SOFA Part 3, Question 6); (ii) parties involved in litigation in which the Debtor is a party (SOFA Part 4, Question 9); and businesses owned by the Debtor (SOFA Part 11, Question 27).

- c. parties and counsel filing notice of appearances in the Debtor's chapter 11 case; - d. the Court and personnel of the office of the United States Trustee; and - e. other parties in interest that I have become aware of as a result of the Chapter 11 Trustee's ongoing investigation of the Debtor's assets.

10. Harneys maintains a computer database (the "Database") containing, *inter alia*, the names of all Harneys' current and former clients and, with respect to any engagement, adverse and related persons. I caused to be submitted to, and checked against, the Database all of the names listed on Schedule 1 (collectively, the "Interested Parties").

11. Harneys has no relationship or connection with the Interested Parties, or, to the best of my knowledge, with any other creditor of the Debtor.

12. While Harneys has made a diligent effort to ascertain the identity of any connections or potential conflicts with interested parties, to the extent that any additional information comes to light, Harneys will review, disclose, and resolve any conflict or adverse interests that may appear.

13. Based on the foregoing, insofar as I have been able to ascertain based on the information currently available to me: (a) Harneys has no connection with the Debtor, his creditors, the U.S. Trustee, any person employed in the office of the U.S. Trustee, or any other party with an

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actual or potential interest in the Chapter 11 Case or their respective attorneys or accountants; and (b) neither Harneys nor any of its attorneys (i) is a creditor, equity security holder, or insider of the Debtor or his affiliates, (ii) has been, within two years before the Petition Date, a director, officer, or employee of the Debtor or his affiliates, or (iii) has any interest materially adverse to the interests of the Debtor's estate or any class of creditors or equity security holders by reason of any direct or indirect relationship to, connection with, or interest in the Debtor, or for any other reason. Therefore, I believe that Harneys is a "disinterested person" within the meaning of section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code, as modified by section 1107(b).

14. Harneys does not believe that Appendix B of the U.S. Trustee Guidelines (the "Larger Case Guidelines") applies in this Chapter 11 Case, because the Debtor's petition does not list \$50 million or more in assets and \$50 million or more in liabilities. In particular, the Debtor estimated the value of his assets between \$50,001 and \$100,000. Nevertheless, Harneys intends to make a reasonable effort to comply with the U.S. Trustee's requests for information and additional disclosures set forth in the Larger Case Guidelines in connection with the interim and final fee applications to be filed in the Chapter 11 Case, but reserves all rights as to their relevance and substantive legal effect in connection with the Application or any application for compensation in the Chapter 11 Case.

15. In the interest of providing maximum disclosure, and notwithstanding Harneys' position concerning the inapplicability of the Larger Case Guidelines, Harneys provides the following response to the request for information set forth in Paragraph D.1. of the Larger Case Guidelines:

Question: Did you agree to any variations from, or alternatives to, your standard or customary billing arrangements for this engagement? Answer: No.

Question: Do any of the professionals included in this engagement vary their rate based on the geographic location of the bankruptcy case?

Answer: No.

Question: If you represented the client in the 12 months prepetition, disclose your billing rates and material financial terms for the prepetition engagement, including any adjustments during the 12 months prepetition. If your billing rates and material financial terms have changed postpetition, explain the difference and the reasons for the difference.

Answer: N/A. Harneys has not previously represented the Chapter 11

Trustee.

Question: Has your client approved your prospective budget and staffing plan, and, if so, for what budget period?

Answer: The Chapter 11 Trustee and Harneys have agreed to an hourly charge-out rate for one partner, one counsel and one associate for professional fees and have agreed that other members of the Harneys may assist from time to time as appropriate. Harneys have also agreed that they are willing to separately agree budgets for particular pieces of work

16. Harneys has neither shared nor agreed to share with any other person compensation

received in these cases, except as is permitted by §504(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code.

17. Harneys consents that the following language may be included in any order by the

Court approving the Harneys Retention Application:

Allowance of any compensation for Harneys shall be limited to the extent of services actually performed, and expenses actually incurred, as attorney for the Chapter 11 Trustee Luc A. Despins, and shall not include compensation for the performance of any of the trustee duties that are generally performed by a Chapter 11 trustee without the assistance of an attorney.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the above statements

are true and correct.

Dated: August 30, 2022, at Tortola, British Virgin Islands

*/s/ Andrew Thorp* Andrew Thorp

## **SCHEDULE 1**

## **SCHEDULE OF PARTIES IN INTEREST – IN RE KWOK**

### **20 LARGEST UNSECURED CREDITORS**

PACIFIC ALLIANCE ASIA OPPORTUNITY GOLDEN SPRING NEW YORK RUI MA CHENG JIAN WU JIAN SHE NING YE GUO BAOSHENG YAN LAN & WU ZHENG HONG QI QU NAN TONG SI JIAN JIAN GONG YAN ZHAO YUA HUA ZHUANG SHI LIEHONG ZHUANG/XIAO YAN ZHU WEICAN MENG/BOXUN INC. SAMUEL NUNBERG LAMP CAPITAL LLC JUN CHEN AKA JONATHAN HO YUE HUA ZHU SHI XIONG XIAN WEI YE HUIZEN WANG

### **DEBTOR, FAMILY MEMBERS, AND CERTAIN RELATED ENTITIES**

HO WAN KWOK (A.K.A MILES GWOK, MILES GUO AND WENGUI GUO) HING CH NGOK/YUE QINGZHI QIANG GUO MEI GUO/MEI GUI HK INTERNATIONAL FUNDS INVESTMENTS (USA) LIMITED, LLC BRAVO LUCK LIMITED GENEVER HOLDINGS CORPORATION GENEVER HOLDINGS LLC

#### **BANKRUPTCY JUDGE AND U.S. TRUSTEE PERSONNEL**

HONORABLE JULIE A. MANNING WILLIAM HARRINGTON KIM L. MCCABE HOLLEY CLAIBORN JOSEPH H. FLAMINI ERIN HOGAN STEVEN MACKEY FRANK MARINO JENNIFER J. MOREY NICOLE NEELY SHARON WARNER JOHN GERVAIS

### **OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES**

7 NOD HILL LLC, AAGV LIMITED ABRAMS FENSTERMAN, LLP ACA CAPITAL GROUP LIMITED ACA INVESTMENT FUND ACA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LTD. ACE DECADE HOLDINGS LIMITED AI GROUP HOLDINGS INC., ALFA GLOBAL VENTURES LIMITED ALFONSO GLOBAL LIMITED ALLIED CAPITAL GLOBAL LIMITED ALPINE FIDUCIARIES SA AN HONG ANDREW SULNER/FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINATIONS, LLC ANTON DEVELOPMENT LIMITED ARETHUSA FORSYTH ASSETS SINO LIMITED AUSPICIOUS COAST LIMITED BAIQIAO TANG A/K/A TANG BAIQIAO BAKER HOSTETLER LLP BEIJING BI HAI GE LIN YUAN LIN LU HUA, LTD. BEIJING CHENG JIAN WU JIAN SHE GROUP, LTD. BEIJING FU LE HONG MA JIAN ZHU ZHUANG SHI GONG CHENG, LTD. BEIJING PANGU INVESTMENT CO. BEIJING ZENITH HOLDINGS CO. BEIJING ZHONG XIAN WEI YE STAINLESS DECORATION CENTER BERKELEY ROWE BERNARDO ENRIQUEZ BOIES SCHILLER BOXUN INC. BRANCH BROWN HARRIS STEVENS BROWN RUDNICK, LLP BSA STRATEGIC FUND I BURNETTE SHUTT AND MCDANIEL PA CAHILL GORDON & REINDEL LLP CHAO-CHIH CHIU CHASE BANK CHENGLONG WANG CHIESA SHAHINIAN & GIANTOMASI PC CHINA GOLDEN SPRING GROUP (HONG KONG) LIMITED CHONG SHEN RAPHANELLA CHUANG XIN LTD. CITIBANK CLARK HILL PLC CLAYMAN & ROSENBERG LLP CLAYMAN ROSENBERG KIRSHNER & LINDER LLP COHN BIRNBAUM & SHEA P.C. COUNSEL PRESS INC. CRANE ADVISORY GROUP LLC CREATIVE APEX INVESTMENTS LIMITED CRYSTAL BREEZE INVESTMENTS LIMITED DANIEL PODHASKIE DANIEL S. ALTER

DANYU LIN DAWN STATE LIMITED DONGNA FANG EASTERN PROFIT CORPORATION LIMITED EDUARDO EURNEKIAN ELITE WELL GLOBAL LIMITED ELLIOTT KWOK LEVINE & JAROSLAW LLP EMPIRE GROWTH HOLDINGS ERIC GOLDSMITH MD, LLC FAN BINGBING FIONA YU FORBES HARE G CLUB OPERATIONS LLC G FASHION LLC G NEWS LLC, GANFER SHORE LEEDS & ZAUDERER GAO BINGCHEN G-CLUB GETTR USA GFASHION MEDIA GROUP INC., GFNY, INC GLENN MELLOR GLOBALIST INTERNATIONAL LIMITED GNEWS MEDIA GROUP INC., GOLDFARB & HUCK ROTH RIOJAS, PLLC GREENWICH LAND LLC G-TRANSLATORS PTY LTD GTV MEDIA GROUP, INC., GUO LIJIE GUO MEDIA GUO WENOUN GUO WENPING HAIHONG WANG HAMILTON CAPITAL HOLDINGS INC HAN CHUNGUANG HAO HAIDONG HARCUS PARKER LTD. HE BEI YUE HUA ZHUANG SHI GONG CHENG LTD. HEAD WIN GROUP LIMITED HELEN MANIS HENAN YUDA HERO GRAND LIMITED HIMALAYA EMBASSY HIMALAYA EXCHANGE HIMALAYA FEDERAL RESERVE HIMALAYA INTERNATIONAL CLEARING LTD. HIMALAYA INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL GROUP LTD HIMALAYA INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS LTD. HIMALAYA INTERNATIONAL RESERVES LTD. HIMALAYA SUPERVISORY ORGANIZATION HING CH NGOK HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FUNDS INVESTMENTS LIMITED HONG QI QU JIAN SHE GROUP, LTD. HONG ZENG HUDSON DIAMOND NY LLC HSBC

INFINITE INCREASE LIMITED INFINITUM DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED INSIGHT CAPITAL INSIGHT PHOENIX FUND JANOVER LLC JASON MILLER JENNIFER MERCURIO JESSE BROWN JIA LI WANG JIA YANG LI JIAMEI LU JIAN FAN JIANG SU PROVINCE JIAN GONG GROUP LTD BEIJING BRANCH JIANG YUNFU BE JIANHU YI JIANSHENGXIE AND JIEFU ZHENG JING GENG JOHN S LAU JONATHAN YOUNG JUMBO CENTURY LIMITED JUN LIU JUNE SHI KAIXIN HONG KARIN MAISTRELLO, KATHLEEN SLOANE KERCSMAR FELTUS & COLLINS PLLC KEYI ZIKLIE KUI CHENG LALIVE SA LAO JIANG LAW FIRM OF CALLARI PARTNERS, LLC LAWALL & MITCHELL, LLC LEADING SHINE LIMITED LEE VARTAN LIEHONG ZHUANG LIHONG WEI LAFRENZ (AKA SARA WEI) LINDA HE CHEUNG LOGAN CHENG (F/K/A SHUIYAN CHENG) LONG GATE LIMITED MACDONALD MAR-A-LAGO MAUNAKAI CAPITAL MAX KRASNER MCELROY, DEUTSCH, MULVANEY & CARPENTER, LLP MELISSA MENDEZ MILES GUO MILES GWOK MOA-FU NEW DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT LIMITED NEW FEDERAL STATE OF CHINA NEXT TYCOON INVESTMENTS LIMITED NOBLE FAME GLOBAL LIMITED O'MELVENY & MYERS LLP PACIFIC ALLIANCE ASIA OPPORTUNITY FUND L.P. PAUL WEISS PETRILLO KLEIN & BOXER LLP

PHILLIPS NIZER LLP PULLMAN & COMLEY, LLC QIQHUA FAN QU GUOJIAO QUIJU JIA RANDAZZA LEGAL GROUP, PLLC ROBINSON & COLE LLP RONG ZHANG ROSS HEINEMEYER ROY D. SIMON RUIZHENG AN RULE OF LAW FOUNDATION III RULE OF LAW SOCIETY IV INC RUQUIN WANG SAIL VICTORY LIMITED SAMUEL DAN NUNBERG SARA WEI (A/K/A LIHONG WEI LAFRENZ) SARACA MEDIA GROUP, INC., SCHULMAN BHATTACHARYA, LLC SELAS MONTBRIAL AVOCATS SHANE D SHOOK SHERRY-NETHERLAND, INC. SHI JIA ZHUANG ZHEN YUAN JIAN ZHU AN ZHUANG GONG CHENG LTD BEJING FIRST SHINY ACE INNOVATION CO LTD SHINY TIMES LTD. SHUANG WANG SPIRIT CHARTER INVESTMENT LIMITED STANDARD CHARTERED BANK STEPHEN WONG STEVE BANNON, STEVENSON WONG STOKES LAWRENCE, PS STRATEGIC VISION LLC TELI CHEN THE CASPER FIRM THE FRANCIS FIRM PLLC THE LAW OFFICES OF RAFAEL A. VARGAS THE SHERRY-NETHERLAND HOTEL THOMAS RAGLAND TM PRIMROSE LIMITED TROY LAW PLLC U.S. LEGAL SUPPORT, INC. UBS AG (LONDON BRANCH) UBS AG (LONDON) UNA MANYEE WILKINSON VERDOLINO & LOWEY VERITEXT VOICE OF GUO MEDIA, INC. VX CERDA & ASSOCIATES WA&HF LLC WARD & BERRY, PLLC WEICAN ("WATSON") MENG WEIGUO SUN WEIXIANG GE WELL ORIGIN LTD. WEN LIN

WENG WHITECROFT SHORE LIMITED WHITMAN BREED ABBOTT & MORGAN LLC WILLIAM BRADLEY WENDEL WILLIAM GERTZ WILLIAM JE (JE KIN MING) WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY WORLD CENTURY LIMITED, WORLDWIDE OPPORTUNITY HOLDINGS LIMITED WU ZHENG XIAO YAN ZHU XIAODAN WANG XINGYU YAN XIQUI ("BOB") FU YA LI YAN GAO YAN HUANG YANG LAN YANKWITT LLP YANPING WANG YAZ QINGUA YELIANG XIA YI LI YING LIU YUE HUA ZHU SHI YUNXIA WU YVETTE WANG ZEICHNER ELLMAN & KRAUSE LLP ZEISLER & ZEISLER, P.C. ZHANG WEI ZHENG WU (A/K/A BRUNO WA) ZHENGJUN DONG ZIBA LIMITED