British courts flooded with record number of Russian lawsuits

Yahoo

20-05-2025

Britain's legal system was inundated with an influx of Russian cases last year as City law firms softened their stance against acting for some of the country's oligarchs.
The High Court saw a record 60 cases involving Russian companies and individuals in the 12 months to March 2025, up from just 27 in the previous year, according to figures collated by Portland Communications.
Experts said the surge likely includes many cases that were delayed or postponed because of sanctions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The latest figures also revealed 80pc of the Russians involved in High Court cases last year were represented by British lawyers, compared to just 30pc in the year prior.
The situation suggests law firms are now more willing to work for Russian clients than they were in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion, the report says.
Lawyers are now taking a more 'nuanced' approach to working with Russian clients, the report said, adding that City law firms now appear less willing to 'over comply'.
The British Government's decision to lift the cap on the sums of money sanctioned individuals are allowed to pay out in legal fees, from £500,000 to £2m, has also let Russian clients bring forward more 'heavyweight commercial disputes'.
Ziyavudin Magomedov, a jailed Russian oligarch, was one of the many Russians litigating in London last year, as he has sued a whole host of companies over claims that he was subject to a Kremlin-led plot to seize ports that he owned.
'The data suggests a strong presence of Russian high-net-worth individuals seeking resolution in London,' the report says.
Of the cases linked to Russian parties, 32 involved Russian companies while 27 were related to Russian individuals.
By contrast, just 320 of all cases in the High Court involved individuals last year, compared to 1,025 involving companies.
All in all, 93 nationalities were represented in Britain's High Court last year, the research showed, with British claimants the most commonly represented, ahead of Emiratis, Americans, Russians and Cypriots.
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