Issue #71: Tuna Fight
Welcome to the latest edition of OiA!
We welcome articles from our community, so if you’ve got insights to share, slide into our inbox.
Here are the latest 🌶 headlines in APAC:
Ling Yah
P/S: Know of any interesting seminars happening? Drop us a note at editor@overheard.asia!
P/P/S: Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to find out where you can find the food featured above!
Lost in Limbo
Singapore's High Court just rejected WazirX’s restructuring proposal to help its users recover funds following last year’s shocking $230 million hack.
🍿 What Happened?
WazirX, once India’s crypto kingpin with a third of the country’s traders in its pocket, lost nearly 45% of their holdings when it was hacked back in July 2024.
The exchange recently proposed a recovery plan that was supported by 93% of its voting creditors (representing 94.6% by value) to facilitate token distributions and return up to 85% of lost funds to devastated users who’ve been locked out for nearly a year.
👀 However…
The Singapore court has now rejected the proposed restructuring plan, leaving thousands of crypto holders still staring at frozen accounts.
The exchange promises to appeal, but for now, it’s back to the drawing board while users’ digital assets remain in legal limbo.
Give It Back!
Global health organisation Gavi has just filed an arbitration claim against Shanghai-based Clover Biopharmaceuticals, seeking the return of $224 million in advance payments for COVID-19 vaccines that never quite materialised as promised.
🍿 What Happened?
Back in 2021, Gavi (the Geneva-based partnership backed by the likes of the World Bank, UNICEF and Bill Gates) struck an advance purchase deal with Clover for 64 million doses of their protein-based SCB-2019 vaccine, contingent on WHO approval. Clover pocketed the hefty advance payment – meant for non-refundable raw materials for the initial batch of vaccines – with an option for Gavi to buy another 350 million doses if things went well.
Spoiler alert: they didn’t.
Regulatory delays plagued Clover’s vaccine development, forcing a 2022 contract amendment that converted the initial order into an option stretching to 2026.
By the time Clover delivered a measly 12 million doses, the pandemic peak had passed, and the company was haemorrhaging staff amid financial troubles.
Gavi terminated the contract in March, giving Clover 14 days to refund the advance before triggering arbitration which brings us to… today’s arbitration.
Yikes.
Tuna Fight
US-based tuna brand Bumble Bee, which holds 25% of America's canned tuna market, has quite the fight on its hands after 4 Indonesian fishermen filed a landmark lawsuit against it, alleging that the company had knowingly profited from brutal forced labour conditions aboard Chinese-owned vessels in its supply chain.
🍿 What Happened?
The fisherman paints a harrowing picture of life at sea - routine beatings, stabbings with needles, workers so underfed they ate bait fish, and gruelling 12-hour daily shifts without breaks for prayer or medical care - all while having their wages withheld!
One fisher described suffering a deep leg gash that exposed the bone, while another had part of his finger sliced off – both were ordered back to work without proper treatment.
These men worked on vessels like the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 878 and Run Da 5, which allegedly supplied albacore tuna directly to Bumble Bee through its “trusted network” of Chinese suppliers.
👀 Tuna Lawsuit
Filed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in federal court in San Diego, California, this case represents the first of its kind against the U.S. seafood industry.
Bumble Bee recently fired back in June with a motion to dismiss, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction and that holding U.S. companies liable for foreign suppliers’ conduct would create “limitless liability”.
Time will tell who’s on the hook for these fishy allegations!
Spotlight: Huw Watkins
From Australia to Japan and Back Again
Food Reveal
Looking for some delicious tea oil mian xian (thread noodles)?
Are you a student or young lawyer?
Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?
We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at team@overheard.asia!
Special thanks to Overheard in Asia’s sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!