JFC breaches world wide freezing order and owner
CEO Mr Kekhman and JFC directors are summoned for contempt
The Judge, Mr Edelman QC, after reading detailed submissions and hearing oral arguments from both parties’ leading counsel, held that there were good grounds for continuing the world wide freezing order against JFC, freezing JFC’s assets wherever they may be in the world. The Order also requires JFC to give prior notification of all business transactions in excess of USD$25,000 and to provide an updated schedule of its world wide assets by 16 March 2012. JFC were ordered to pay STAR’s legal costs totalling GBP£175,000.
Crucially, the Judge found that there was a good arguable case that there had been serious breaches of the world wide freezing order by JFC and good arguable case that the seven named directors/officers had willfully disobeyed the Court’s previous Order. He therefore granted permission to serve the contempt of court proceedings on the named directors/officers.
Contempt proceedings will now be served on owner/CEO Vladimir Kekhman and directors/officers Andrey Afanasyev, Dmitri Kasatkin, Vitaly Podolsky, Yulia Zakharova, Tatiana Litvinova and Oleg Dobronravo. If theses directors/officers are found guilty of contempt they may face imprisonment, unlimited fines and their property may be seized.
The Court has listed the contempt hearing for 23 May 2012.