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Comment by tryingagainbro | Hacker News Reader

In theory, why are lawsuits after this possible? Doesn't the bankruptcy court asks all debtors to come ahead until x date and after that the court decides? I know you can sue for everything but why would they have any chance?

edit: Thanks for the asnwers. So, Karpeles will have assets and he'll have to answer for his negligence or failure to manage his corp properly. Maybe he'll file for personal bankruptcy before getting any money :)

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Because he is also on trial for embezzlement. Bankruptcy just clears away regular debt owed by the company, but he can still be sued individually for illegal actions he (may have) committed.

If he embezzled company assets, does he not owe that debt to the company?

Bankruptcy is for settling debts, not judging whether someone's actions led to your financial losses. In this case, the amount of the debt was determined by the value at the time the bankruptcy trustee took control of Mt. Gox's assets. That doesn't mean Gox users haven't been harmed by being deprived of an asset that has appreciated significantly due to misconduct or fraud by Karpeles et al.

The corporate bankruptcy deals with debts of the corporation; it does not deal with liabilities of corporate officers for misconduct, including ones for acts for which they would have been, e.g., jointly and severally liable with the corporation, and which the corporation would likely have paid for fully had it been solvent.

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