JSC VTB Bank v Mr P Skurikhin

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
JudgeMr Justice Flaux
Judgment Date31 October 2014
Neutral Citation[2014] EWHC 4613 (Comm)
CourtQueen's Bench Division (Commercial Court)
Docket NumberCase No: 2012-1105
Date31 October 2014
Between:
JSC VTB Bank
Claimant
and
Mr P Skurikhin
Defendant

[2014] EWHC 4613 (Comm)

Before:

The Honourable Mr Justice Flaux

Case No: 2012-1105

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION

COMMERCIAL COURT

The Rolls Building

Fetter Lane

London EC4A 1NL

Mr T Penny (instructed by PCB Litigation LLP) appeared on behalf of the Claimant

The defendant did not attend and was not represented

Mr Justice Flaux
1

This is an application on behalf of the VTB Bank by Mr Tim Penny, counsel, for the committal for contempt of court of judgment debtor and defendant Mr Pavel Skurikhin.

2

The background to the matter is that following summary judgment hearing before Simon J on 7 March 2014, Simon J entered judgment against Mr Skurikhin in a sum of Russian rubles which was the equivalent of some £10 million in relation to and by way of enforcement of a series of judgments obtained by the Bank against Mr Skurikhin in Russia.

3

A short stay of execution was granted on certain conditions with which Mr Skurikhin did not comply and in those circumstances the stay fell away. The Bank then applied to Males J for an order for attendance by Mr Skurikhin for oral examination pursuant to Rule 71 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and an order was made by Males J on 3 April 2014 which contained a penal notice on its face and required Mr Skurikhin to attend for oral examination before a Master pursuant to CPR 71.2.

4

The claimant Bank applied at that stage for an order for alternative service of the order on the solicitors who were then acting for Mr Skurikhin, Fried Frank. On 6 May Males J made an order for alternative service on Fried Frank and specifically ordered that compliance with that order was deemed to be compliance with the requirements of CPR 71.3 in relation to service.

5

On 9 May the matter was listed for hearing on 10 July 2014 before Master Eyre, and on that day (9 May) the Bank's solicitors, PCB Litigation, served the orders including the endorsement for a hearing before Master Eyre and the supporting witness statement on Fried Frank in accordance with the order of Males J on 6 May.

6

On 6 June, Fried Frank applied to come off the record both before the Commercial Court and in the Court of Appeal. In the address for service box on the form for the Court of Appeal, an email address for Mr Skurikhin was provided by the solicitors and thereafter the Bank pursued the application which they had in fact issued immediately prior to the order made by Simon J on 7 March for a worldwide freezing order against Mr Skurikhin, and on 12 June 2014 they obtained a worldwide freezing order from Eder J. That was a hearing which was on notice to Mr Skurikhin given at that email address.

7

The learned judge granted the worldwide freezing order which contained a penal notice in the normal way. Paragraph 12 of the order provided that within 21 days of the order being served on him, the defendant should provide details of all his worldwide assets excluding £15,000. Paragraph 15 of the order provided that again within 21 days he should swear and serve an affidavit setting out that information and exhibiting all relevant documentation and paragraph 18 of that order provided for alternative service of the order on the defendant by sending a copy by email to the email address which had been identified by Fried Frank, alternatively by registered letter to various addresses for the defendant of which the Bank was aware in Russia.

8

On 2 July, the Bank duly sent by email to that email address for the defendant the order that had been made by Males J on 3 April for examination of Mr Skurikhin before Master Eyre together with the endorsement that had been stamped on that order for attendance on 10 July. The position was that there was no response from Mr Skurikhin to that service of the order upon him and there was no request made by him for payment of his travel and attendance expenses pursuant to CPR 71.5. It is quite clear in my judgment (i) that Mr Skurikhin was well aware of the order and that the order required his attendance before the Master on 10 July and (ii) that he deliberately failed to comply with that order to attend for an examination of the debtor, as part of...

To continue reading

Request your trial
9 cases
  • JSC VTB Bank (a company incorporated in Russia) v Pavel Valerjevich Skurikhin
    • United Kingdom
    • Queen's Bench Division (Commercial Court)
    • 12 June 2019
    ...and therefore is a particularly serious case of a contemnor in effect cocking a snook at this court.” ( JSC VTB Bank v Skurikhin [2014] EWHC 4613 (Comm); [2014] 10 WLUK 956, at [15]). The Claimant says Mr Skurikhin has not come into the country since then, so the committal orders have not ......
  • GML International Ltd v Jonathan Henry Martyn Harfield
    • United Kingdom
    • Queen's Bench Division
    • 15 September 2020
    ...to 57 and 66 to 67, Templeton Insurance Limited v Thomas & Panesar [2013] EWCA (Civ) 35 at para.42, JSC VTB Bank v Skurikhin [2014] EWHC 4613 (Comm) and ADM Rice Inc v Corporacion Comercializadora de Granos Basicos SA [2015] EWHC 2448 (QB). From those authorities I derive the following pr......
  • Asia Islamic Trade Finance Fund Ltd v Drum Risk Management Ltd and Others
    • United Kingdom
    • Queen's Bench Division (Commercial Court)
    • 17 December 2015
    ...2) [2012] 1 WLR 350 at paras.52 to 57 and 66 to 67, Templeton Insurance Limited v Thomas & Panesar [2013] EWCA (Civ) 35 at para.42, JSC VTB Bank v Skurikhin [2014] EWHC 4613 (Comm) and ADM Rice Inc v Corporacion Comercializadora de Granos Basicos SA [2015] EWHC 2448 (QB). From those authori......
  • Alfa-Bank v Reznik
    • United Kingdom
    • Queen's Bench Division (Commercial Court)
    • 3 August 2016
    ...to 57 and 66 to 67, Templeton Insurance Limited v Thomas & Panesar [2013] EWCA (Civ) 35 at para.42, JSC VTB Bank v Skurikhin [2014] EWHC 4613 (Comm) and ADM Rice Inc v Corporacion Comercializadora de Granos Basicos SA [2015] EWHC 2448 (QB). From those authorities I derive the following prin......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT