On March 5, the Advocate General of the EU Court presented an opinion regarding case C-71624, which involves the freezing of bank accounts of an unnamed iGaming operator based in Curacao.
A German player had secured a default judgment from a Frankfurt court for the return of €57,000 in lost funds. In his appeal against the refusal of provisional measures, he cited an ongoing bankruptcy case against the company as a threat to the enforcement of the court ruling.
The Advocate General opined that offshore bankruptcy does not block the freezing of bank accounts in EU countries through the European Account Preservation Order mechanism (EU Regulation 655/2014). This is because the exception in the regulation applies only to bankruptcies governed by EU law and opened in member states.
This opinion is advisory in nature, and the final verdict will be made by the EU Court.