Tchenguiz launches £2.2bn claim

Vincent Tchenguiz has launched a £2.2bn legal claim against accountant Grant Thornton and Icelandic bank Kaupthing following his exoneration in a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office. Tchenguiz’s claim, which has been filed at the Commercial Court, names Stephen Akers and Hossein Hamedani of Grant Thornton, and Johannes Runer Jahannsson, an Icelandic lawyer who was a member of Kaupthing’s Resolution Committee, as defendants in the case, alongside their employers. The individuals, named as “the conspirators” in the claim, are alleged to have conspired against Tchenguiz and his Family Trust under acute commercial and financial pressure to help settle a £1.6bn claim against Kaupthing and to “unlawfully obtain information”. It is also alleged that the trio effectively controlled the SFO investigation, which led to search warrants being issued on 7 March 2011 against Vincent Tchenguiz and which also led to his arrest. The claim alleges that Grant Thornton and Kaupthing are liable for the actions of the individuals. Vincent Tchenguiz is seeking substantial damages, estimated at £2.2bn, including aggravated and exemplary damages for claims including conspiracy by unlawful means and malicious prosecution. Tchenguiz said: “It is clear to me that the Serious Fraud Office was deliberately manipulated into investigating me by people who intended to cause me harm and were driven by commercial gain and self-interest. “This was, I believe, quite simply, a conspiracy by the defendants to use a criminal investigative authority for their own personal ends and to cause irreparable harm to me and my business interests and I intend to see them held fully accountable. “What has emerged is a scandal of international proportions and a conspiracy that has drawn in both the Icelandic and British governments and which has caused me substantial harm. Now it is time for those responsible to be judged on the full extent of their wrongdoing.” jack.sidders@estatesgazette.com