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Mercantile Court |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Mercantile Court >> Aoot Kalmneft v Denton Wilde Sapte (a firm) [2001] EWHC 1 (Mercantile) (29 October 2001) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Mercantile/2001/1.html Cite as: [2002] 1 Lloyd's Rep 417, [2001] EWHC 1 (Mercantile), [2002] 1 Lloyds Rep 417 |
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QUEENS BENCH DIVISION
LEEDS
MERCANTILE COURT
B e f o r e :
____________________
AOOT KALMNEFT (a legal entity existing under the laws of the Republic of Kalmykia) |
Claimant | |
and |
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DENTON WILDE SAPTE (a
firm) |
____________________
Mr.
Andrew Lennon (instructed by Messrs. Denton Wilde Sapte) for the defendants
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
7.1 On 2 July 1997 Denton Hall started acting for Amerco.
7.2 In July 1997 Mr Green of Denton Hall instructed the Guernsey law firm of Carey Langlois to incorporate Amerco. On 21 July 1997 Denton Hall told Carey Langlois that Amerco was to be formed for the benefit of Mr Chrysler, Mr Daginov and a Saudi Arabian national. Denton Hall asked that the company should be formed by 25 July 1997.
7.3 On 23 July 1997 Mr Green of Denton Hall informed Carey Langlois that Mr Daginov was a vice president of Kalmneft and that Mr Chrysler and the Saudi national were executives of American Amerco. He also informed them that 280 shares were to be issued to Mr Daginov and 60 shares to each of the other two.
7.4 The First Amerco Prepayment Agreement is dated 23 July 1997. It was signed by Mr Daginov for Amerco and his signature was witnessed by Mr Green.
7.5 The Kalmneft/Amerco Oil Supply Contract was signed on 25 July 1997. Mr Chrysler signed for Amerco and his signature was witnessed by Mr Green of Denton Hall.
7.6 On 5 August 1997 Amerco was incorporated in Guernsey.
7.7 On 13 August 1997 the Guernsey Financial Services Commission ("GFSC") advised Carey Langlois that they had discovered that the Saudi national had been charged with conspiracy to defraud and was due to stand trial on November 1997 in Knightsbridge Crown Court. The GFSC indicated it might seek to wind up Amerco.
7.8 On 14 August 1997 an addendum to the Kalmneft/Amerco Oil Supply Contract was signed. Mr Green of Denton Hall witnessed the signature of Mr Chrysler who signed for Amerco.
7.9 On 18 August 1997 Glencore paid $4.75 million to Lloyds Bank Guernsey for credit to Amerco's account as anticipated by the First Amerco Prepayment Agreement. On 22 August 1997 Lloyds Bank Guernsey sent the $4.75 million back to Glencore. In a telephone conversation on 22 August 1997 Denton Hall informed Carey Langlois that there was "$5 million sitting in the bank account in Guernsey which has been deposited for the purchase of oil from Russia for a client of Amerco".
7.10 On 1 September 1997 Denton Hall sent Carey Langlois separate letters of instruction from Mr Daginov and Mr Chrysler that the Saudi national should have no part in Amerco's affairs and expressing the hope that the GFSC would allow Amerco to continue with only Mr Daginov (85%) and Mr Chrysler (15%) as shareholders and directors. Denton Hall pointed out that no shares had been issued and no directors had been appointed. They asked that the GFSC should deal with the matter urgently as the Amerco account at Lloyds Bank Guernsey could not be operated as there was no mandate. They advised that the "bank is awaiting receipt of US $4,750,000 from a UK purchaser of Russian oil to be provided under Amerco Oil Internationa! Limited's arrangements with one of the Russian oil companies. The Russian oil company is getting particularly concerned that the funds have not vet been received by it although arrangements are in hand for the shipping of the oil",
7.11 On 18 September 1997 Glencore paid $60,000 to Mr Daginov's account at Lloyds Bank Guernsey. The statements of that account show that a total of $851,223.12 was paid into Mr Daginov's private bank account by Glencore or by parties identified by Kalmneft as an associated company of Glencore and two of Glencore's bankers.
7.12 On 26 September 1997 Denton Hall billed Amerco in the sum of £11,089.30 for work done between 2 July and 3 August 1997. Funds to pay that were provided by Mr Chrysler, Glencore and Amerco.
7.13 The Second Amerco Prepayment Agreement entered into between Glencore (1) and Kalmneft and Amerco (2) is dated 1 December 1997. Under it Glencore agreed to make a prepayment of up to US $8 million for oil products to be supplied by Amerco to Glencore under a supply contract dated 1 December 1997.
7.14 On 23 December 1997 Mr Daginov sent us $50,000 to Denton Hall from his private bank account at Lloyds Bank Guernsey.
7.15 On 24 December 1997 US $8 million was credited to Amerco's UK bank account.
7.16 On 16 January 1998 Mr Daginov sent US $50,000 to Denton Hall from his private account at Lloyds Bank Guernsey. On 22 January 1998 Denton Hall sent just over US $50,000 back to Mr Daginov's account.
7.17 On 2 March 1998 Glencore made a Swift payment of $34,834 to Mr Daginov's private account at Lloyds Bank Guernsey. The payment details are "Sea Princess, Mesta". In February 1998 Kalmneft had invoiced Amerco for shipments of crude oil on vessels called Sea Princess and Mesta which were delivered to Glencore.
7.18 On 3 March 1998 US $19,655.70 was credited to Mr Daginov's private account at Lloyds Bank Guernsey; the payment details are "By Order of GOPAG ref commission". Kalmneft identify GOPAG as the acronym of Glencore Oil Products AG.
7.19 On 19 March 1998 Kalmneft and Briarwise entered into the Briarwise Oil Supply Contract.
17.20 19 March 1998 is also the date of the Briarwise Prepayment Agreement between Glencore (1) and Kalmneft and Briarwise (2) under which Glencore agreed to make a prepayment of up to US $10 million, to be paid as to US $7 million to Briarwise's bank account and the balance to be made available by the supply of equipment.
17.21 On 1 April 1998 Glencore paid Briarwise $7 million which Glencore says was part of the prepayment anticipated by the Briarwise Prepayment Agreement.
7.22 On 3 April 1998 Glencore Oil Products AG (1) and Kalmneft and Briarwise (2) entered into an equipment supply agreement and Glencore say that US $1,506,329.79 worth of work and equipment was supplied under that agreement as part of the prepayment.
7.23 10 July 1998 is the date of a novation agreement apparently made between Kalmneft (1) Amerco (2) Briarwise (3) and Glencore (4) whereby Briarwise agreed to be liable for the obligations of Amerco to Glencore under the First and Second Amerco Prepayment Agreements and Kalmneft agreed to be liable with Briarwise to Glencore for those obligations.
7.24 In December 1998 Kalmneft ceased to supply oil to Briarwise under the Kalmneft/Briarwise Oil Contract.
7.25 On [12] March 1999 Glencore began arbitration proceedings against Kalmneft under the Briarwise Prepayment Agreement claiming about US $8.5 million allegedly prepaid for oil not delivered following the suspension of deliveries.
"A court of equity has never hesitated to use the strongest powers to protect and preserve a trust fund in interlocutory proceedings on the basis that, if the trust fund disappears by the time the action comes to trial, equity will have been invoked in vain".
These two cases and a similar decision of Robert Goff J (as he then was) in A v C [1980] 2 All ER 347 were considered by the Court of Appeal in Bankers Trust Co v Shapira [1980] 3 All ER 353. Lord Denning MR said (358c); "Applying this principle, I think the court should go to the aid of Bankers Trust Co. It should help them follow the money which is clearly theirs, to follow it to the hands in which it is, and to find out what has become of it since it was pur into Discount Bank (Overseas) Ltd".
"I am particularly impressed by the views expressed by Lord Romilly MR and Lord Hatherley LC in Upmann v Elkan (1871) L.R. 12 Eq. 140; 7 Ch. App. 130. They seem to me to point to a very reasonable principle that if through no fault of his own a person gets mixed up in the tortious acts of others so as to facilitate their wrongdoing he may incur no personal liability but he comes under a duty to assist the person who has been wronged by giving him full information and disclosing the identity of the wrongdoer".
"The Norwich Pharmacal case is no authority for imposing upon "mixed up" third parties a general obligation to give discovery or information when the identity of the defendant is already known".
He pointed out that Mr Daginov is an obvious and known defendant. Mr Levine told me that Mr Daginov has disappeared and presently cannot be found but Mr Levine's main point was that the evidence indicates that Mr Daginov and his family received only a relatively small proportion of the US $10 million of prepayments that Kalmneft have not received. Kalmneft wants disclosure to identify defendants other than Mr Daginov.
"In my judgment, therefore, the first principle of the Bankers Trust case is that the plaintiff must demonstrate a real prospect that the information may lead to the location or preservation of assets to which he is making a proprietary claim".
In Bankers Trust Co v Shapira Waller LJ (page 359a) said, in relation to a submission that the breadth of the disclosure order sought was unduly wide;-
"Again, in my opinion, an order of that breadth is completely justified in a case of this sort because, unless there is the fullest possible information, the difficulties of tracing the funds will be well nigh impossible".
Of course, fraudsters do not normally disclose the whole picture to their bankers or advisers. Bits of information are revealed to the extent necessary because fuller disclosure would cause respectable bankers and professional advisers to refuse to assist. In my experience the complete picture is often only revealed when the information given to a number of people is obtained so that the wider picture can be reconstructed. In approaching the 'first principle' suggested by Hoffmann J the Court must, in my view, take a realistic view of how frauds are conducted and be satisfied that there is a real prospect that the information sought may assist in locating and preserving assets by helping build up a complete picture of what was being done.