From insider dealing to the UK’s largest ever civil claim, the city’s lawyers will be busy this year
(Bloomberg) — London’s storied courts had a curious 2022.
Footballers’ wives faced-off at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Wagatha Christie trial, a battle of reputations that became the highest profile trial of the year. The litigation seeped into the mainstream and has already spawned a stage show and TV drama. Meanwhile, wealthy Russians were grabbing headlines for a different reason. Once a mainstay of the commercial court system and a crucial source of income, they now need a government license to litigate following the invasion of Ukraine.
Over in the criminal courts, the English and Welsh justice system ground to a halt as trial lawyers walked out, escalating a protest with the government over funding and fees that was ultimately resolved but with trials backed up for years. Elsewhere, Glencore Plc was fined £276 million ($332 million) for bribery and corruption.
This year the courts will play host to a £8 billion battle from Nigeria, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker accused of insider trading and the biggest ever civil claim fought in UK courts.
Here are the most eye-catching civil and criminal trials in 2023.
The Republic of Nigeria v Process and Industrial Developments Ltd.
January 2023
The Republic of Nigeria is seeking to overturn an £8 billion arbitration award that was won by a little-known offshore firm, Process and Industrial Development Ltd., after a gas-supply deal soured. The West African country is trying to overturn the penalty, which has ballooned due to interest, by proving that the firm secured the contracts through bribes and lies. The reward is now worth about a third of its foreign reserves. The trial is expected to last over eight weeks and will raise questions about the UK’s secretive arbitration process.
Read more: Nigeria Piles on Fraud Claims Ahead of $11 Billion Dollar Trial
G4S Serious Fraud Office Trial
Later this month, three former G4S executives, the UK private security company, stand accused of defrauding the taxpayer on a prisoner-tagging contract by the country’s top fraud prosecutors. Richard Morris, Mark Preston and James Jardine are charged with seven fraud offenses. The trial, delayed by a year, will focus on the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation that’s run for over eight years.
Read more: G4S Agrees to $48.6 Million Fine to Settle Case With UK’s SFO
Qatar Airways v Airbus
June 2023
Qatar Airways dragged its very public spat with Airbus SE into court when it sued the aircraft manufacturer in 2021 over flaking paint on A350 aircrafts it had purchased. Qatar claims that it’s owed as much as $2.4 billion in compensation. Airbus has since hit back with a counter claim, in which it asks for the return of millions worth of purchase in incentives made available to Qatar as part of the A350 agreement. The first part of the trial, which was fast-tracked by the judge, will determine liability.
Read more: Airbus Feud With Qatar Airways Means Customer Isn’t Always Right
Mastercard v Merricks
July 2023
Mastercard Inc. is set to face a pivotal point in its class action lawsuit brought by tens of millions of consumers, in the largest civil damages claim ever filed in the UK. Walter Merricks represents some 46 million consumers and is seeking as much as £16.7 billion in damages for what it alleges are the charging of excessive payment fees. This is the first ever substantive trial under the UK’s competition collective proceedings regime and will pave the way for a slew of future of cases which have been filed since the new rules came into force.
Read more: Mastercard Set to Face UK’s Largest Class Action Over Fees
Credit Suisse v Mozambique
September 2023
Credit Suisse Group AG is back in court again. This time it faces a 13-week trial in September over its role in the $2 billion “tuna bond” scandal in Mozambique that saw three of its own bankers convicted in the US for accepting bribes. The Mozambican authorities accuse Credit Suisse of ignoring multiple red flags and turning a blind eye to the corruption of the three when the bank arranged the loans to state-backed companies. The Swiss lender denies those claims.
Read more: Credit Suisse Ignored Warning on $2 Billion Deal With Tycoon
Bernie Ecclestone Trial
October 2023
Formula One motor racing mogul Bernie Ecclestone faces a jury trial over fraud charges in the UK over hundreds of millions of pounds in unreported overseas assets. Ecclestone, 92, was charged with fraud by false representation and is accused of failing to declare £650 million in assets to the UK’s tax authority. Eccleston indicated at a previous hearing that he would plead not guilty to the single count of fraud. The money is alleged to have been held in a Singapore bank account.
Read more: Ecclestone Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud in UK Tax Suit
Goldman Sachs Insider Trader Trial
November 2023
A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst and his brother, an ex-lawyer at top London law firm Clifford Chance, stand accused of insider trading. Mohammed Zina and Suhail Zina, were charged over trading in six stocks and prosecutors allege that the insider trades came from within Goldman Sachs. The brothers have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mohammed worked as an analyst at the bank’s unit that checks for business conflicts, and left Goldman Sachs in 2018. Suhail worked as a junior solicitor and left the firm the same year.
Read more: Ex-Goldman Analyst, Brother Charged in Insider-Trading Case
–With assistance from Upmanyu Trivedi.
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