Monday 15 June 2015

Freezing Orders And Third Parties -Duties Explained Part 2

Obligations on third parties to disclose a Respondent’s Assets
Unless ordered otherwise, third parties such as banks have no obligation to disclose any information regarding the Respondent’s assets to the Applicant. Indeed, to do so would put the Bank at risk of breaching its duty of confidentiality to the Respondent.Please see our series of post on Norwich Pharmacal Orders, which deal with such requests for disclosure of information from third parties.
Other companies owned by the Respondent
In circumstances where a company is not named in the Freezing Order but is wholly owned by the Respondent, the court has held that such assets held by that company were covered by the Freezing Order and furthermore that the Respondent should not in any way seek to procure that the company dispose of those assets which would in turn materially reduce the value of his shareholding in that company or otherwise the assets which could be recovered from him personally.
Variation and discharge of the Freezing Order by a third party
Any third parties affected by the terms of the Freezing Order are entitled to apply to Court to vary or discharge the terms of the Freezing Order as it relates to them. The application should be made within a reasonable time period following service of the Order and the Applicant will often be liable to pay for the third party’s costs in the making of such an application. In addition, it is possible for the third party to make an application to Court seeking specific guidance and / or clarification on the operation and / or requirements of the Freezing Order.
Costs of the third party complying with the Freezing Order
Any third party who incurs reasonable costs in dealing with the compliance of a Freezing Order is entitled to recovery of those reasonable costs against the Applicant, subject to appropriate evidence being provided and subject to the discretion of the Court.
Should you require any further assistance at all in this area of the law, please contact one of our fraud specialists on 020 7841 0390 and we will be happy to have a free consultation with you.