A long-running lawsuit involving claims exceeding US$200 million, relating to a Ugandan bank, will be heard by the English courts following a victory for Crane Bank and its shareholders in the Court of Appeal.
LONDON, Aug. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — A long-running lawsuit involving claims exceeding US $200 million, relating to a Ugandan bank, will be heard by the English courts following a victory for Crane Bank and its shareholders in the Court of Appeal. (CA-2022-002042)
The latest chapter in this dispute turned on the ‘foreign act of state’ doctrine, which prevents the English courts from hearing matters concerning foreign government acts of state taking place in the territory of the foreign state. The ruling from the Court of Appeal found that Crane Bank and its shareholders’ claims are not barred by the foreign act of state doctrine.
Crane Bank was one of Uganda’s largest commercial banks until 2016. The claim alleges that officials at the Bank of Uganda engaged in a corrupt scheme with the defendants to take control of Crane Bank and sell its assets for the benefit of the conspirators. Along with its shareholders, Crane Bank claims unlawful means conspiracy against the Development Finance Company of Uganda (DFCU), its executives, and four development finance institutions who it is claimed took part in a fraudulent scheme to purchase Crane Bank’s assets at a gross undervalue.
The Court of Appeal found that there are serious issues to be tried in relation to the claimants’ reliance on (i) the Commercial Activity Exception, and (ii) the argument that all the executive acts in question engage the English public policy of combatting and not giving legal protection to bribery and corruption, thereby falling outside the foreign act of state doctrine (the Public Policy Exception).
The Greenberg Traurig team, led by Masoud Zabeti, a shareholder and Litigation chair for Europe at Greenberg Traurig, also comprised Of Counsel Katharine Bond, Senior Associate Miten Vaghela, Senior Associate Bethany Histed, Associate Thai Nguyen, and Trainee Solicitor Francesca Conroy. The team instructed Lord David Pannick KC of Blackstone Chambers and Hannah Brown KC, David Caplan, and Ben Lewy of One Essex Court.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 45 locations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com
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