Caspar Bartscherer

Recent and ongoing work includes:

• Successfully acting for the Claimant in Manoukian v Société Générale de Banque au Liban and another [2022] EWHC 669 (QB), one of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases of 2022’, in obtaining an order for international transfers from Mr Manoukian’s bank accounts held with the Defendant banks following an 8-day trial in the High Court in February 2022 (with Daniel Toledano KC and Bobby Friedman). Further details on the decision of Mr Justice Picken can be found here.
• Acting for the appellant beneficiaries in the Privy Council appeal of Crociani v Crociani (with Robert Ham KC), an important appeal regarding defaulting trustees’ duty to reconstitute the trust fund.
• Acting for the applicant/plaintiff in civil fraud proceedings in Raiffeisen v Scully Royalty in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, claiming over €40m under the Cayman Fraudulent Dispositions Law and in conspiracy (with Tim Penny KC and Jamie Holmes). This includes, most recently, successfully acting in two appeals before the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, which upheld a €153m worldwide freezing order against two of the Defendants, and refused two of the other Defendants’ application for permission to appeal the order dismissing their jurisdiction challenge.
• Acting for the claimant oil trading company in Lukoil Benelux BV v Oil Distribution Terminals SL and others, a claim relating to the misappropriation of +€20m of diesel oil from a storage facility in Spain (with Bobby Friedman). The claim involves complicated issues of conflict of laws, civil fraud and interim relief.
• Acting for the claimant bondholders in Cresta Estates Ltd and another v Robert Colin, an application to replace a security trustee under s. 41 of the Trustee Act 1925 (with Patrick Harty). The claimants are seeking to ultimately recover their +£60m investment in a plastic-to-oil project in North Wales.
• Advising the employer of a large pension scheme regarding a surplus arising in the context of a winding up (with Jonathan Hilliard KC).
• Acting for the defendants in a cross-border commercial dispute (with Tim Penny KC). This includes serious allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, related proceedings in another jurisdiction and pleading extensive provisions of foreign law.
• Acting for the defendants in a £50m fraud claim in the Commercial Court (with Bobby Friedman).
• Advising the trustee of a substantial offshore settlement in relation to attacks on the trust made in the context of a multi-jurisdictional dispute (with Jonathan Hilliard KC and Jack Watson).
• Advising in a contentious pensions matter (with Jonathan Hilliard KC).
• Acting for the claimant in a joint venture dispute (with Jack Watson).
• Acting for the claimants in Part 8 proceedings in the Chancery Division seeking rectification of a deed. This has included a successful application to dispense with service of documents on an untraceable Defendant.
• Successfully obtaining strike out of a claim alleging deceit, dishonest breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. The claim related to the sale of residential property in the UAE and involved questions of jurisdiction, and choice of law.
• Advising on a potential breach of trust claim against the client’s former solicitors.
• Successfully resisting an overly broad application for specific disclosure.
• Advising investors in a failed hotel investment scheme regarding potential challenges to decisions made by the insolvency officeholders in charge of the freehold and management companies.
• Advising both claimants and defendants in professional negligence claims.