Sounds like the judge is not anxious to grant them bankruptcy protection unless he shows up for deposition. Would be nice to finally hear some answers under oath from MK.
I thought Mtgox was already granted bankruptcy protection.
Mt. Gox hasn't been granted bankruptcy protection in either the US or Japan. They've only
asked for it. In both cases, courts are considering their petition, and may reject it. Once a creditor (the guy behind "mtgoxrecovery.com") filed a petition in the Tokyo District Court alleging fraud at Mt. Gox, the Japan bankruptcy stopped going the way Mt. Gox wanted. The Tokyo District Court delayed the bankruptcy decision for six weeks while the court-appointed supervisor and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigate. Mt. Gox wanted "civil rehabilitation" in Japan on their terms. That's not available when there's fraud, or when there's little hope of paying creditors back 100%. Most likely, Mt. Gox will be forced into one of the tougher forms of bankruptcy in Japan, all of which start with Mark Karpeles being fired.
With a lot of creditors in the US, probably more than in Japan, the US case is important. The US doesn't have to give them debtor-in-possession treatment. Especially if fraud is suspected. The US judge can put in a trustee, to oversee any US assets and deal with the court in Japan. Read
"When the Bankruptcy Trustee Suspects Fraud". The trustee can file lawsuits against any related party (like Mark Karpeles) and ask for criminal prosecutions.
This is the position Mt. Gox is in: they're trying to convince judges that somehow, half a billion dollars entrusted to them are missing, they don't know where it went, but it's not their fault. That's not likely to convince any judge. Especially with petitions on the record demonstrating that it's probably false.
