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ARTICLE · 08 JUNE 2014

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The English courts are getting tough on individuals who claim to have no control over trust assets when the reality is very different.

United KingdomWealth Management
Dawn Goodman
Dawn Goodman
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The English courts are getting tough on individuals who claim to have no control over trust assets when the reality is very different. In several recent cases concerning Russian and CIS nationals, people have been held in contempt of court for failing to disclose information about their assets. In this article we look at two recent cases where the English Court's remit stretched far and wide.

The headline case of JSC BTA Bank v Mukhtar Ablyazov [2012] EWHC 237 Comm concerned allegations of fraud by Mr Ablyazov, the chairman of JSC BTA Bank in Kazakhstan. It was suspected that Mr Ablyazov stole bank funds and proceedings were started in the High Court in London. The Court ordered his assets to be frozen and receivers appointed to safeguard assets that were said to belong to Mr Ablyazov, until the claim could be resolved. The receivers used their powers to obtain considerable amount of information about trusts in Jersey which Mr Ablyazov had set up.

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