The European Union is to make a submission to the U.S. Supreme Court in its hearing of the U.S. Department of Justice’s appeal against a ruling which prevented prosecutors from gaining access to emails held by Microsoft in Ireland. The case has attracted significant attention from technology and media companies due to concerns that an […]

In JSC BTA Bank v Mukhtar Ablyazov [2015] UKSC 64 the Supreme Court considered whether the proceeds of a loan agreement constituted “assets” as defined in the Commercial Court form of freezing order. JSC BTA Bank appealed against an earlier Court of Appeal decision that the respondent’s contractual rights to draw down under certain loan […]

The circumstances in which a money laundering offense may also constitute a substantive criminal offense was the subject of a UK Supreme Court decision last week. A copy of the Supreme Court’s opinion in R v GH [2015] UKSC 24 is here. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) provides that money laundering includes dealing with property […]

Introduction On 22 April the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the case of R v GH [2015] UKSC 24. The Supreme Court was addressing the offence of entering into, or becoming concerned in, an arrangement which facilitates the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property for, or on behalf of, another person […]

Who is the rightful owner of a bribe? Is a bribe or secret commission received by an agent “held on trust” for his principal? Or is the principal’s claim against the agent a personal one for equitable compensation equal to the value of the bribe or commission? The issue is of critical importance. It affects […]

In the case, FHR European Ventures LLP and others v Cedar Capital Partners LLC [2014] UKSC 45, the Supreme Court ruled that bribes and secret commissions given to an agent were the property of the principal.  FHR European Ventures LLP (FHR) purchased the share capital of Monte Carlo Grand Hotel SAM from the vendor. Cedar […]