The High Court of England and Wales has upheld claims by Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska against the law firm that advised former VEB chief Vladimir Chernukhin. According to the published decision by Judge Neil Culver, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan must reveal where it obtained financial document that Deripaska claims is fake.
The decision, made after hearings held in London on October 2 and 3, is part of a long-running legal battle between Chernukhin and Deripaska over the right to own a stake in Trekhgornaya Manufactory. In 2017 The London Arbitration Court recognized Chernukhin as a co-owner of the company and ordered Deripaska to pay him more than $95 million. The businessman appealed this verdict, which was subsequently dismissed. Chernukhin, in turn, tried to prove that Deripaska owed him $395 million, citing a financial report obtained by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan from an unnamed source.
“Deripasca and Filatona Trading Limited want to establish the identity of those who, as there are reasonable grounds to believe, could have forged a document in order to mislead this, as well as the arbitration courts, and fraudulently deprived the plaintiffs of $300 million “I believe that, taking into account all the circumstances, the issuance of a court order to disclose the origin of the document is a necessary and proportionate measure“, the court's decision said. "If Mr. Chernukhin had anything to do with the crimes, it would be proper for that fact to be revealed. If that is not the case, then he should not be afraid to make the requested information public," Justice Culver added.