{CURRENT_TIME} var is defined in
includes/page_header.php
'CURRENT_TIME' => sprintf($lang['Current_time'], create_date($board_config['default_dateformat'], time(), $board_config['board_timezone'])),
As you can see the time is formatted with the default BOARD_TIMEZONE, so, changing the value in
ACP and emptying the SQL cache, you should see the time in the format you wish.
If you don't have that code in your page_header.php (I can't remember how that was in IP 015), just update the code for CURRENT_TIME with the one I have provided, and you should solve your issue.