Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui will return to court today (4 May) for what is expected to be a hotly contested hearing on his motion to access debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.

The key issue so far in the nearly two-month-old Chapter 11 case has been the return of the Lady May yacht to US waters to comply with a New York state court judgment that determined he must pay USD 135m to Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund.

The debtor has been hit with motions to dismiss the case or to appoint an examiner or Chapter 11 trustee. Those motions were originally up for a 27 April hearing but have since been moved to 25 and 26 May. Wengui had been set to seek approval of USD 8m from Golden Spring (New York) Limited, a vehicle owned by his son, but his counsel told the court last month that he is instead working to finalize the receipt of USD 37m that would be held as adequate assurance until the yacht, valued at USD 28m, is returned to US waters.

Judge Manning warned the debtor at an 18 April hearing that he has a “lot of hurdles” between him and plan confirmation given the pushback from creditors.