Civil Fraud cases form a significant part of the core disputes work undertaken by barristers at One Essex Court and as such we are perceived by many as the market leading set in this sector. With a worldwide reputation for our work in this area, there is notable strength in depth across all levels in chambers, and members win significant praise for their forensic attention to detail and consistently high technical ability.
The principal areas covered include accounting irregularities; asset-tracing and recovery; bribery; breach of fiduciary duty; constructive trusts; directors duties; deceit and conspiracy; unlawful means conspiracy; fraudulent misrepresentation; Ponzi and pyramid schemes; freezing and disclosure orders; search and seizure and other injunctive remedies, as well as broader multi-jurisdictional investigations and court proceedings.
Recent notable work has included: Hewlett Packard/Autonomy v. Lynch & Hossain, in a $5bn claim for fraudulent misrepresentation in the UK's biggest ever fraud trial; Bourlakova v Bourlakov & others, in a $3bn fraud claim in relation to an alleged conspiracy to defraud Mrs Bourlakova of a share of family assets; PJSC Tatneft v. Gennadiy Bogolyubov & Ors., in a £334m fraud claim brought by a Russian oil company against four prominent Ukrainian businessmen; Madoff Securities International Limited v. Raven & Ors., in an action brought by the liquidators of Bernard Madoff's London trading operation against Mr Madoff's sons and directors of Madoff Securities International Ltd; SKAT v. Solo Capital Partners, in a claim by the Danish tax and customs administration that it is the victim of a sophisticated fraud for over £1.4bn; ENRC v. Dechert LLP and David Neil Gerrard, in a claim by ENRC against Dechert in relation to ENRC's own internal investigations into operations in Kazakhstan and Africa, and its engagement with the SFO as part of the investigation; Sabbagh v Khoury, in a long running and complex $600m dispute over the estate of Hassib Sabbagh, which involved actions for conspiracy under Lebanese and Greek law; Vale v Steinmetz & Ors, in a $1.8bn claim alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and conspiracy in relation to a joint venture to exploit mining licences in the Republic of Guinea.
Historically, counsel from One Essex Court have been engaged in relation to many of the highest profile and most complex fraud cases and financial investigations of modern times, including significant engagements in the claims and investigations relating to Guinness/Distillers, Maxwell, BCCI, Blue Arrow and Barlow Clowes amongst others.
Other notable engagements have included principal roles in litigation concerning the collapse of Barings Bank, the trading fraud at Sumitomo Corporation and the massive fraud claims involving Grupo Torras and Tajik Aluminium. Barristers at One Essex Court also acted for Smith New Court in its claim against Scrimgeour Vickers and Ors., the leading case in English law on the measure of damages for fraudulent misrepresentation.