GB - Alta Trading UK Ltd (Formerly Arcadia Petroleum Ltd) & Ors v Bosworth & Ors

Peter MacDonald Eggers QC:

Introduction

The Claimants were members of the Arcadia group of companies (“the Arcadia

Group”) and trade or traded in physical crude oil and oil derivatives.

The Claimants initiated these proceedings against the Defendants alleging that they have suffered as victims of a substantial fraudulent conspiracy among a number of natural and corporate persons to divert money, allegedly some US$340 million, away from the Claimants (the Arcadia Group) and into the hands of companies owned and/or controlled by the individual Defendants, who were former senior executives of the Arcadia Group or their associates. The fraud concerned profits arising from transactions, relating to West African crude oil, involving Arcadia Group companies but which accumulated in entities outside the Arcadia Group, and were diverted into or through the Defendants or other companies associated with the individual Defendants.

Claims against four of the Defendants have been settled.

The Fifth Defendant, Mr Steven Kelbrick, was an oil trader with the First Claimant (“Arcadia London”), and thereafter a consultant to and trading partner of the Arcadia Group. Mr Kelbrick owns 50% of the beneficial interest in the Ninth Defendant (“Attock”). The other 50% is owned by Mr Salem Mounzer, who had been the Sixth Defendant in the proceedings, but with whom the Claimants have settled their claims.

The claims against the Defendants, including Mr Kelbrick and Attock, are grounded in allegations of conspiracy, dishonest assistance of breach of fiduciary duty, knowing receipt and aiding and abetting tortious acts in breach of the Swiss Code of Obligations.

The Defendants, including Mr Kelbrick and Attock, deny the claims. Mr Kelbrick’s case is that the trades were legitimate, formed the ordinary course of his business and were undertaken on the understanding that the First and Second Defendants had the relevant authority on behalf of the Arcadia Group.

On 12th February 2015, the Claimants applied for and obtained freezing injunctions against the Defendants, including Mr Kelbrick and Attock. The injunctions were later continued at the return date in July 2015. On 13th February2015, the Claimants commenced these proceedings.

At the hearing of those applications, the Claimants gave an undertaking in damages and voluntarily agreed to fortify or secure that undertaking in the sum of US$2 million.

Since 2015, the proceedings have been occupied by challenges to the Court’s ju