For more information please call our Clerks on
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Civil fraud, both domestic and cross-border, is a core practice area for members of 7KBW.
Members offer unrivalled experience in this field. Recent significant civil fraud cases include:
7KBW’s expertise includes pursuing and defending all types of fraud claims, many of which are very high-value and cross-jurisdictional. A notable recent success was in The Republic of Djibouti v Boreh [2016] EWHC 405 (Comm), in which members of 7KBW represented the Defendant, a prominent African businessman. The Claimants’ allegations that he had accepted bribes and was corrupt were rejected and their claims were dismissed in their entirety.
Traditional fraud claims in which members have acted have involved claims for breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and torts (often against company directors), and accessory liability claims against those who have assisted or benefited from a fraud, including for dishonest assistance, knowing receipt and unjust enrichment. A recent example is Orb a.r.l. v Ruhan, a long-running, high-value Commercial Court case in which members of Chambers acted for both the Claimants and the Defendant.
Since a key element of civil fraud work is the location and preservation of misappropriated assets, members have particular expertise in obtaining and resisting interim injunctions, particularly freezing injunctions and proprietary injunctions, as well as obtaining orders for the preservation of property and other evidence. Recent examples of cases where members succeeded in having freezing injunctions discharged include: The Republic of Djibouti v Boreh [2015] EWHC 769 (Comm); [2015] 3 All ER 577; Blue Holdings (1) Pte Ltd v United States of America [2014] EWCA Civ 1291; [2015] 1 WLR 1917; and Anglo Financial SA v Goldberg [2014] EWHC 3192 (Ch). Members also offer strategic and tactical advice regarding asset recovery.
A significant proportion of cases in Chambers’ other key practice areas also require expertise in fraud:
Expertise
Gavin Kealey QC
Jonathan Gaisman QC
Clive Freedman QC
Dominic Kendrick QC
Timothy Brenton QC
Alistair Schaff QC
Stephen Hofmeyr QC
Christopher Butcher QC
Adam Fenton QC
Stephen Kenny QC
Richard Southern QC
Robert Bright QC
David Bailey QC
David Edwards QC
David Allen QC
S J Phillips QC
Siobán Healy QC
James Drake QC
Peter MacDonald Eggers QC
The Court of Appeal has handed down a judgment concerning the effect of exclusive jurisdiction agreements and how, notwithstanding clear wording of such an agreement, a party may nevertheless submit to the jurisdiction of the English Court and waive any right to rely upon an exclusive jurisdiction agreement in favour of the courts of another […]
May 8, 2017[2017] EWHC 246 (QB) Harry Wright acted for the successful Defendant, a solicitor sued by her former law firm for alleged breaches of duty arising in the context of a mortgage transaction in which the borrowers turned out to be fraudsters. The Claimant suffered loss in settling with the mortgage lender, and having been indemnified […]
February 16, 2017On 5th-6th July 2011 the vessel Brillante Virtuoso was severely damaged by fire while off the coast of Aden, Yemen. The Claimants (the vessel’s owners and its mortgagee bank) maintained that the fire was caused by pirates (or thieves or terrorists or persons acting maliciously or from a political motive) and claimed under its war […]
May 17, 2016Orb a.r.l. and ors v Ruhan [2016] EWHC 850 (Comm) This is a complex and high value multi-party commercial fraud dispute, that was listed for a four-month trial in December 2016. (It has now been settled.) James Drake QC, Sarah Martin and James Goudkamp (together with Matthew Ryder QC, Lorna Skinner and Nicholas Gibson, all […]
April 15, 2016The Commercial Court has given judgment in The Republic of Djibouti & ors v. Abdourahman Boreh & ors, a major civil fraud case in which wide-ranging allegations of dishonesty were made against a prominent African businessman. The defendants were represented during the 10 week trial by Dominic Kendrick QC, Richard Waller QC, Jocelin Gale and […]
March 2, 2016[2015] EWHC 3269 (Ch D) A major shareholders dispute between overseas companies concerning ownership and management of an English telecommunications company. Encompassed allegations of fraud, forgery, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of directors duties. Michael, together with Justin Fenwick QC and Dan Saoul, successfully represented the Defendant at the trial. To view the judgment […]
November 11, 2015In a highly publicised case, Clive Freedman QC of 7 KBW has successfully represented the Ritz Hotel Casino and obtained judgment for £2,000,000 plus interest and indemnity costs against Mr Al Geabury on a gambling debt. The judgment was handed down in the High Court in London by Mrs Justice Simler today 31 July 2015. […]
July 31, 2015Dominic Kendrick QC and Keir Howie (Instructed by Yvonne Jefferies of Byrne and Partners) acted for the Defendant, Mr Abdourahman Boreh, in his successful application to discharge a worldwide freezing order covering assets worth over $100 million. The Claimants in the action are the Republic of Djibouti and two of its state agencies, and their […]
March 23, 2015James Drake QC appeared for the Orb Parties (viz, the Claimants, the Fifth Party and the Seventh Party), leading Paul Greenwood and Nicholas Gibson. Tim Jenns appeared for the Defendant, Mr Ruhan. This is a complex and high value multi-party commercial fraud dispute. After a five day hearing in February 2015 before Mr Justice Cooke, […]
March 20, 2015Richard Waller QC, Tim Jenns and Andrew Pearson acted for the Defendant, Mr Andrew Ruhan, in a substantial interlocutory application, in this complex and high value multi-party commercial fraud dispute, which is due to come on for a 4-month hearing before the Commercial Court in late 2016/early 2017. The Defendant brought applications, inter alia (i) […]
February 11, 2015[2014] UKSC 64 ; [2014] 1 WLR 4495 Michael was part of the counsel team to represent HRH Prince Abdulaziz in his appeal to the Supreme Court in the context of this major fraud case. Michael also successfully appeared in the eventual trial of this action: see Apex Global Management v Fi Call Ltd [2015] […]
November 26, 2014The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by the Appellants, Blue Holdings (1) Pte Ltd and Blue Holdings (2) Ltd, from an order of Field J which had continued an interim freezing injunction granted to the Respondents, the United States of America. The Court held that it had not been expedient to grant the injunction […]
October 9, 2014[2013] EWHC 3530 (Ch D) Trial of a claim against directors for diverting assets from the company (led by Patrick Lawrence QC). The case raised issues of breach of fiduciary duty, constructive trusts and lifting of the corporate veil. Successfully obtained orders that a significant property be held on trust. To view the judgment please […]
November 19, 2013NEW SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT: ALTERNATIVE SERVICE OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION – HOW EXORBITANT IS THAT? 26.06.2013 The following judgment was handed down from the Supreme Court this morning. It has important ramifications in cases about service out of the jurisdiction. To view the judgment please click here. Clive Freedman QC of 7 King’s Bench Walk together […]
June 26, 2013The Court of Appeal has handed down a judgment concerning the effect of exclusive jurisdiction agreements and how, notwithstanding clear wording of such an agreement, a party may nevertheless submit to the jurisdiction of the English Court and waive any right to rely upon an exclusive jurisdiction agreement in favour of the courts of another […]
May 8, 2017
Andrew Wales QC was a speaker at the C5 Fraud, Asset Tracing and Recovery conference in Geneva, on 16 – 17 March 2017. This is Europe’s leading conference on civil fraud investigations, litigation and asset recovery. Andrew spoke on Intermediary Liability and Dishonest Assistance: Claims Against Banks. The full conference programme can be found here.
March 21, 2017
[2017] EWHC 246 (QB) Harry Wright acted for the successful Defendant, a solicitor sued by her former law firm for alleged breaches of duty arising in the context of a mortgage transaction in which the borrowers turned out to be fraudsters. The Claimant suffered loss in settling with the mortgage lender, and having been indemnified […]
February 16, 2017
New book on Insurance Act - Co-authored by Harry Wright bit.ly/2vEDJNE
Harry Wright features in Legal Week's Stars at the Bar 2017 list bit.ly/2w3Egvy
