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Yearly Archives: 2020
Interim injunction against Bitcoin discharged and damages considered an adequate remedy
In a recent High Court decision, Toma v Murray, Robin Vos sitting as Deputy High Court Judge, declined to a continue a without-notice interim injunction which restrained the Defendant from dealing with Bitcoin held in a coin deposit account. Vos held that damages would be an adequate remedy in this instance.The Claimants sold Bitcoin through an account on the Finnish platform LocalBitcoins.com. However, the payment they received was reversed, leaving the Claimants without the Bitcoin or their payment. The Defendant controlled the LocalBitcoins.com accounts used to make and withdraw the payments, and which continued to hold the Bitcoin. The Defendant did not go as far as to admit that there was a fraud, though he allowed the Court to proceed on the basis that a fraud had taken place, and asserted that the account had been hacked.The Claimants initially obtained a without notice interim injunction. LocalBitcoins also froze the account, though they said that in absence of a court order they would release the Bitcoins to the Defendant.On reviewing the injunction and deciding whether it should be upheld, Vos decided that although the Claimants’ made a proprietary tracing claim, they were ultimately seeking the value of the Bitcoin held in the deposit account and therefore the claim could be satisfied in monetary terms.He held that the injunction should not be upheld and the case is set to continue to determine whether or not there was any fraud on the part of the Defendant, a matter which could not be dealt with at an interim hearing. This is an interesting decision as it considers Bitcoin in relation to its value in monetary terms over its proprietary value. The Court distinguished it from AA v Persons Unknown [2019], the precedent for Bitcoin interim claims, as the Defendant was identified and had shown he held a significant unencumbered asset and there was no reason to believe he would not be able to meet any award against him. This was balanced against the fact that the Claimants admitted that they would have difficult in satisfying across undertaking of damages. On balance the Court considered that this decision left the Claimants with a remedy and did not place an disproportionate risk of loss on the Defendant.Some consideration was given to the volatility of the price of Bitcoin and the impact this may have on both parties. Though the Court focused on the fact that a price and value was given to the Bitcoin at the time of sale and the claim therefore was considered to be for the price paid. A condition was included in the Order to allow the Defendant to sell the Bitcoin only with the consent of the Claimant as a means of neutralising this risk. It shows once again that the court’s are having to approach digital asset cases innovatively. It will be interesting to see if any concession is given to the change in value of Bitcoin in the time before final judgment.Toma and another v Murray [2020] EWHC 2295 (Ch) (29 July 2020) (Robin Vos, sitting as Deputy High Court Judge).
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Agency Workers Regulations: Is your business compliant?
The government has recently introduced changes to the regime affecting the rights and entitlements of agency workers which have significant implications for those businesses who employ agency workers. The government commissioned The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices with the …
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UK Sanctions – the start of a new era
UK Sanctions Post-Transition Period After the Brexit transition period (which ends at 11pm on 31 December 2020), EU sanctions will no longer apply in the UK. The UK’s various sanctions regimes will come into force in their place under the …
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HMRC and furlough fraud
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) has supported over nine million jobs in the UK and is due to end on 31 October 2020, having cost the Treasury over £30 billion. As the Scheme begins to wind down HMRC is …
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Another crypto-sham or simply a failed start-up?
On 28 July 2020, the High Court upheld a worldwide freezing injunction in a case of alleged investment fraud involving a Blockchain company and large volumes of crypto-assets. In the case of Blockchain Optimization S.A. and Petrochemical Logistics Ltd v …
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Beware the return of the Crown Preference
The Finance Act 2020, which received Royal Assent on 22 July 2020, will partially restore HMRC’s position as a preferred creditor in insolvencies from 1 December 2020. Crown Preference was abolished in 2002, leaving HMRC to rank equally with unsecured …
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Sanctions Update: Appeal dismissed in Lamesa Investments Limited v Cynergy Bank Limited
Background Last year, the High Court held that UK based retail bank Cynergy (“Defendant”) could cease to make interest repayments under a loan facility with Lamesa Investments (“Claimant”) due to the real risk of facing US secondary sanctions. The Claimant’s ultimate beneficial owner, Mr Vekselberg, had been placed on the US list of “Specially …
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Croudace Homes Ltd v PRB Wiring Solutions Ltd: Timing important when challenging adjudicator’s fees
The TCC has confirmed in Croudace Homes Ltd v PRB Wiring Solutions Ltd [2020] EWHC 2139 (TCC) that a party intending to challenge the reasonableness of an adjudicator’s fees, should take effective action to do so and in any event …
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Wirecard – has the German financial regulator lost its immunity?
Wirecard’s collapse – the activities of BaFin (and the FCA) Valued at over €20 billion less than 2 years ago, the financial technology group’s share price plummeted by a dramatic 95% in a matter of days in June this year, …
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Making an Impact – The value of a Data Protection Impact Assessment
Even the UK government has apparently overlooked the implications when designing its track and trace programme. Article 35(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as applied in the UK under the Data Protection Act 2018, states: Where a type …
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