The High Court has considered what would be “reasonable cause” to suspect in the context of funds or economic resources being owned or controlled by a designated person for the purposes of the financial sanctions restrictions.
In the case of Vneshprombank LLC v Bedzhamov, Mr Bedhamov (B) and his Russian trustee in bankruptcy applied to the High Court for declarations as to whether there was reasonable cause to suspect that a company (A) which had been funding Vneshprombank (V) in a long running litigation between it and B was in fact owned or controlled by designated persons for the purposes of the Russian sanctions legislation. Three individuals who had been major shareholders in A had been designated and the company had apparently been sold shortly after the designations. B brought the application on the basis that if there was reasonable cause to believe that A was owned or controlled by designated persons, then payments in the court of litigation may benefit them and would ther
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