Changes in Article 11 of the amended Insolvency Law and their potential consequences for pyramid schemes in Poland in the past and in the present

Poland’s new Restructuring Law, which entered into force on 1 January 2016, amended the former Insolvency and Reorganisation Law of 2003. The new law has, among other things, introduced changes to the factors to be taken into account when determining the insolvency of corporate entities. The paper focuses on the interpretation of these new provisions with regard to their possible exploitations by pyramid schemes. The conducted analysis has revealed that the new amendments may establish a basis for pyramid schemes to operate legally for two or even three years cycles. This finding applies, in particular, with respect to the amendments made to the indebtedness factor set out in Article 11(2) of the amended Act. The aforementioned consequences contradict the declarations made by the government that the changes in the insolvency law were intended to abolish old mechanisms that proved unworkable in practice and allowed debtors to carry out acts which were detrimental to their creditors.