Adam Zellick KC

Notable Banking & Finance Cases

AXA v Genworth v Santander

Leading for Santander (with David Murray) in +£600 million proceedings relating to responsibility for PPI losses (Commercial Court, including [2019] EWHC 3376 (Comm); and [2018] EWHC 2898 (Comm)).

SKAT v Solo Capital

Leading (Ian Bergson) for a number of Defendants defending the Kingdom of Denmark’s +£1.5 billion claim relating to dividend arbitrage and cum ex trading and allegations of fraudulent withholding tax reclaim applications (Commercial Court).

Palladian Partners v Republic of Argentina

Leading for the Trustee (with Ian Bergson) in relation to +€1 billion proceedings concerning GDP-Linked Securities issued by the Republic of Argentina (Commercial Court).

High Commissioner for Pakistan v National Westminster Bank

Leading for NatWest in the Hyderabad Funds Case, multi-party proceedings including Pakistan, India, and the family of one of India’s former Royal dynasties as to the entitlement to a large sum of money transferred to NatWest in London in 1948 as India was being partitioned and amid the clash of arms (Chancery Division, judgments in the case include: [2015] EWHC 55 (Ch), [2015] EWHC 1616 (Ch), [2015] EWHC 3052 (Ch), [2016] EWHC 1465 (Ch), [2018] EWHC 3715 (Ch), [2019] EWHC 2551 (Ch)).

Mattheou v Republic of Turkey

Leading for Ziraat Bank in relation to whether the bank accounts of the Turkish Embassy in London could be frozen and enforced against.

Ventra Investments Ltd v Bank of Scotland Plc

Acting (leading Rupert Allen) for Bank of Scotland on aspects of defending proceedings relating to alleged financial mis-selling and LIBOR manipulation (Commercial Court).

Deutsche Bank v Unitech

Acting (with Richard Handyside KC) for ten claimants on an international $150 million syndicated lending and credit contingent USD range accrual swap, including in relation to allegations of mis-selling and LIBOR manipulation (Commercial Court and Court of Appeal, including [2016] EWCA Civ 119, [2016] 1 WLR 3598, [2013] EWCA Civ 1372).

Access Bank v Akingbola

Acting for the Claimant at trial and in the Court of Appeal (with Simon Browne-Wilkinson QC) with judgment for over £900 million for the Claimant bank defrauded by the First Defendant, its former chief executive, by various different complex fraudulent transactions and an illegal share purchase scheme, with the proceedings also involving pre- and post-judgment freezing injunctions, Norwich Pharmacal relief, declaratory and trust-related relief, and international asset tracing and following (Commercial Court and Court of Appeal).

Societe Generale v Saad Trading

Acting for the Defendant in $50 million proceedings on international letters of credit and issues of the requirements of documentary compliance/discrepancy in international banking practice (Commercial Court, Court of Appeal, on application to the Supreme Court, European Court of Human Rights).

Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector v Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited

Acting for the Claimant international financial institution in obtaining judgment for over $105 million pursuant to the terms of an Islamic finance transaction which advanced funds for the development of steel mills in Pakistan (Commercial Court).

Spliethoff's Bevrachtingskantoor v Bank of China

Acting (with Richard Handyside KC) defending the Bank of China against substantial claims on two ship-building guarantees and where the Chinese Courts had injuncted any payment by BoC (Commercial Court).

Arbuthnot Latham & Co Ltd v Amundi Funds

Acting for Amundi in defending a claim by (and counterclaiming against) a London private bank for a negative declaration that it was not liable to pay for a £60 million trade which it had placed with the Amundi fund (Commercial Court).