Definitions of preferential debt payment
a debt payment made to a creditor within a defined statutory period before a debtor files for bankruptcy. Preferential debt payments give the creditor more than the creditor would receive in a bankruptcy proceeding. In some jurisdictions, eg the US, such payments are illegal.
The trustee may be able to get back any preferential debt payments made to a creditor just prior to the bankruptcy proceeding.
payment of an unsecured debt that in some jurisdictions must be paid before all other unsecured debts
The SEA Group proposed a settlement with Alitalia for the payment of preferential debt to the Group of €19.3 million.