On 18 May 2021, Mr Justice Foxton handed down Judgment in The Serious Fraud Office v Litigation Capital Ltd & 46 Others, following a seven week fully remote trial which took place between January and March 2021. Foxton J also handed down another substantial judgment in the same case at the same time, relating to the striking out of different aspects of the proceedings.
The case concerned the competing proprietary claims of a variety of parties to a range of assets held in onshore and offshore structures, including shares in BVI, Manx, and Marshall Island companies, four properties in Jersey, a number of flats in Central London, loans, jewellery and £2m in cash secured by a freezing injunction. The case traversed numerous areas of law, including complex issues of trusts and equitable priority, issues of nomineeship, the concept of Realisable Property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the unwinding of fraudulent transactions under English and Jersey law and also solicitors’ liens, amongst other things.
Daniel Saoul KC of 4 New Square Chambers led the team acting for a group of parties known as the Settlement Parties, who succeeded in their claims, and which included Harbour Litigation Funding, the Serious Fraud Office, Stewarts Law, the Viscount of the Royal Court of Jersey as well as professional receivers and liquidators from KPMG and Quantuma respectively.
Dan led Tim Akkouh and Richard Hoyle, both of Essex Court Chambers, and was instructed by Harcus Parker.
The Main Judgment is available here, and the Strike Out Judgment is available here.
