On Friday 6 October 2017, Mr Justice Morgan handed down judgment after a 40-day trial in Group Seven Ltd and others v Nasir and others [2017] EWHC 2466 (Ch) in favour of the Claimants, represented by Jeff Chapman QC, Simon Atrill and Simon Paul (instructed by Mike Stubbs, Victoria Pigott and Danny Davis at Mishcon de Reya LLP).
The Judge has found Mr Louanjli, a banker, and his former employer Liechtensteinische Landesbank liable in dishonest assistance and unlawful means conspiracy arising from Mr Louanjli’s role in facilitating a sophisticated fraud on the Claimants in Malta and the laundering of the proceeds. The Judgment makes numerous findings of dishonesty against Mr Louanjli, including in respect of his evidence at trial, and awards the Claimants more than €9 million (excluding interest and costs).
The Judge has also found Mr Landman, an accountant, to have acted dishonestly regarding dozens of transactions on his firm’s client account that laundered the proceeds and to have “perjured himself” during cross-examination. Mr Landman is liable to the Claimants in knowing receipt for his receipt of some of the dishonestly obtained funds via a Panamanian offshore vehicle.
The Judge has also made various findings against other parties in the USA, China and UAE for their role in the fraud on the Claimants.
The Judgment is the second judgment arising from this fraud – Jeff Chapman QC and Simon Atrill having previously obtained judgments for the Claimants following a 30-day trial before Peter Smith J against various other participants in the fraud in Group Seven and others v Sultana [2014] EWHC 2046 (Ch).
The full text of the judgment is here
