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Claims against top City law firm Dechert ‘the stuff of conspiracy theories’
Allegations that a top City lawyer leaked confidential information about a Kazakh mining giant under investigation for alleged corruption are “the stuff of conspiracy theories”, the High Court has heard.
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) is suing its former lawyers and the Serious Fraud Office over an SFO investigation into claims of bribery, corruption and fraud at the former FTSE 100 company.
Former policeman turned white-collar crime lawyer Neil Gerrard was hired by ENRC to investigate allegations of bribery and corruption at one of its subsidiaries in Kazakhstan, made by an anonymous whistleblower in 2010.
By Jemma Slingo2021-05-25T11:17:00+01:00
Dechert’s ex-head of white-collar crime made unauthorised contact with the Serious Fraud Office in order to whip up interest in a Kazakh mining case and increase his own legal fees, the commercial court has heard in a mammoth City negligence claim.
Kazakh-based mining company Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) accuses Neil Gerrard – former global co-head of white-collar crime at Dechert – of leaking confidential information to newspapers and drip-feeding material to the SFO to kickstart his case and provide the ‘fodder he needed to expand his investigation’.
‘Mr Gerrard completely turned on his client. and effectively invited the SFO to open a criminal investigation and to seize mountains of documents,’ Nathan Pillow QC, of Essex Court Chambers, said.