ENRC, SFO, and Dechert Settle Lawsuit Over High-Profile Criminal Probe
Settlement of Long-Running Legal Dispute
Background of the SFO Investigation
LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office has settled a lawsuit brought by Kazakh mining group ENRC, which accused the agency and law firm Dechert of causing it huge losses during a high-profile criminal probe.
The settlement, announced by ENRC and Dechert on Wednesday, seemingly brings to an end a more than 10-year legal saga after the SFO began probing alleged bribery by ENRC to secure mining contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2009 and 2012, which the company denied.
Role of Dechert and Neil Gerrard
London's High Court previously found the SFO would not have opened the investigation into alleged bribery had it not first induced ENRC's former lawyer from Dechert, Neil Gerrard, to act against the miner's interests.
Conclusion of the SFO Investigation
The SFO dropped its investigation in 2023 with no criminal charges, saying at the time that there was "insufficient admissible evidence to prosecute".
Financial Impact and Legal Proceedings
ENRC's Claimed Losses
ENRC, a former FTSE 100 company, was seeking around $76 million in "unnecessary costs" it said it had incurred during the SFO investigation and about $90 million in increased borrowing costs after the probe became public, plus interest.
Damages Trial and Settlement
The SFO and Dechert were fighting the case and a damages trial was heard earlier this year to determine how much, if anything, ENRC should receive.
Before the High Court could deliver its ruling, ENRC and Dechert said on Wednesday that the case had been resolved, without disclosing the terms of any deal.
Confidential Resolution
"Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Dechert LLP and David Neil Gerrard have concluded the proceedings between them on terms which are confidential," an ENRC spokesperson and Dechert said in separate but identical statements.
The SFO and Gerrard's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Related Legal Actions
ENRC had separately sued the SFO, its former case controller for the ENRC probe and a former employee for allegedly leaking information to journalists. That case was settled in 2024.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Sarah Young, Kirsten Donovan)
