On day 4 of the trial, Robert Tchenguiz and the other Claimants have abandoned all claims against Grant Thornton in the long-running litigation which the Claimants commenced in August 2015.
In the claims, which have been widely reported in the press, Mr Tchenguiz and associated Claimant companies alleged that two Grant Thornton partners had conspired with a member of Kaupthing bank’s resolution committee in order to bring about Mr Tchenguiz’s arrest by the Serious Fraud Office in March 2011.
These very serious allegations were wholly denied by the Defendants, who contended that they had been made without any evidential foundation and were an abuse of process.
After multiple complex interlocutory phases, the claims finally came on for a 12-week trial before Mr Justice Knowles commencing on 8 October 2018.
However, on day 4 of the trial, after the completion of oral opening submissions, the Claimants announced that they were discontinuing the claims and withdrawing all allegations against the Defendants. The Claimants agreed to pay the Defendants’ costs on the indemnity basis.
At a further hearing on 17 October 2018, Mr Justice Knowles ordered the Claimants to make interim payments on account of the Defendants’ costs totalling in excess of £23million. He also observed that the Defendants’ evidence had not been challenged, that the Defendants left the proceedings with their reputations completely intact, and that, in the view of the Court, each Claimant, including Mr Tchenguiz, owed each Defendant an apology for the litigation. As the Judge stated, “The Court cannot compel that apology, but it records unequivocally that it is warranted”.
James MacDonald (led by Adrian Beltrami QC, and acting with Andrew McIntyre and Anthony Pavlovich) acted for Grant Thornton and the Grant Thornton partners, instructed by Simmons & Simmons LLP.