Chowgule & Company Private Ltd & Anor v Pratap Shirke & Ors
[2023] EWHC 2815 (Comm)
Saeed Akbar v Mohammed Sajead Ghaffar & Anor.
30 May 2023
[2023] EWHC 1275 (Ch)
High Court
Two cousins had a big money fight. One got a court order freezing the other's assets. The second cousin claimed the first one cheated by pretending someone else was his lawyer to get info. The judge didn't believe him, so the asset freeze stayed.
Key Facts
- •Saeed Akbar (Claimant) and Mohammed Sajead Ghaffar & Sairah Kanwal Shah (Defendants) are cousins and wife, respectively.
- •Mr. Akbar alleges Mr. Ghaffar misappropriated over £4 million entrusted for various investments.
- •A worldwide freezing order and proprietary injunction were granted against the Defendants on August 11, 2022.
- •Defendants applied to discharge the order due to the Claimant's alleged breach of full and frank disclosure.
- •The key dispute centers around a letter sent by the Claimant's solicitors (Pannone) to RPC, an investment firm, in which Mr. Ghaffar was listed as a client of Pannone.
- •Defendants argue this was a fraudulent misrepresentation to obtain information for the claim, constituting a breach of full and frank disclosure.
- •Claimant denies fraud and argues the letter was intended to increase chances of obtaining information from RPC.
- •A meeting took place on January 17, 2022, between Mr. Akbar, Mr. Ghaffar, and Pannone solicitors, to discuss the RPC investment.
Legal Principles
Duty of full and frank disclosure in without notice applications for freezing orders.
Brink's Mat Ltd v Elcombe [1988] 1 WLR 1350
Materiality is decided by the court, not the applicant.
Rex v. Kensington Income Tax Commissioners, Ex parte Princess Edmond de Polignac [1917] 1 K.B. 48
The court's discretion to discharge or continue a freezing order despite non-disclosure considers several factors, including the importance of undisclosed facts, culpability, and potential prejudice to the claimant.
Tugushev v Orlov (No. 2) [2019] EWHC 2031 (Comm)
Outcomes
Discharge Application dismissed.
The court found insufficient evidence to support the Defendants' claim of fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of full and frank disclosure. The court accepted the Claimant's explanation of the letter to RPC, finding any non-disclosure to be innocent.
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