Allen and Overy LLP aided and abetted by senior partner Jonathan Hitchin knowingly or recklessly misled the High Court in a multi-million-pound claim could itself face legal action
In Brown v Libyan Investment Authority in June 2011 the High Court granted a multi-million-pound order in favour of Brown following loans made the Libyan Government via the Libyan Investment Authorities (LIA) Cayman Islands bank accounts controlled by Paine Crow and Partners through client accounts and who were appointed as a power of attorney by the then Libyan Oil minister Shukri Mohammed Ghanem acting on behalf of the Libyan government and for humanitarian needs via that was legally obtained.
In September 2012 following a series of fraudulent misrepresentations by Allen and Overy LLP, firstly that it been instructed by the LIA to come on record instead to undermine and counter the LIA decision to settle under PCP and secondly that it knew enough about the affairs of the LIA during 2011that it recklessly or knowingly misled the High Court that a company called PCP, that was given permission in 2009 by the Libyan government minister to act for the LIA as power of attorney, did not exist when in fact the Cayman Islands-based partnership had existed since 2009 and is now incorporated in England and Wales.
Since 2016 the Courts of England and Wales have considered the appointment of the power of attorney and have ruled that it had been in existence since 2009 and under its terms, PCP could settle any legal issues on behalf of the LIA and any of its subsidiaries during the civil war.
