Latest news with #legalclaim
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Richard Desmond attacks £70m Lottery handout to Czech billionaire
Richard Desmond has launched a fresh legal claim against the Gambling Commission over a £70m handout granted to the National Lottery. The media mogul alleges that funds set aside for charitable donations under Camelot, the lottery's previous operator, constitute a 'subsidy' and should therefore be recovered from Allwyn, the current operator. The claim, lodged at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, represents an escalation of an increasingly bitter battle between Mr Desmond and the gambling regulator since he lost out to Allwyn in his bid to secure the fourth National Lottery licence. Allwyn, controlled by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, subsequently acquired Camelot after it gained control of the lottery. However, Allwyn's ownership has so far been beset by problems owing to a botched IT upgrade. Mr Desmond's Northern and Shell group, which owns the Health Lottery, claims that the Gambling Commission allowed Camelot, once it was under Allwyn's control, to take £70.21m from the National Lottery Distribution Fund to help bankroll marketing activities. 'The decision had the effect of granting to Camelot financial assistance which conferred an economic advantage, on the grounds that the subsidy provided Camelot with resources to market and promote the National Lottery,' court papers filed by Northern and Shell said. This, in turn, bolstered 'the National Lottery's competitive position in the relevant markets, to the ultimate benefit of Camelot and Allwyn'. The National Lottery Distribution Fund is a pot that essentially collects the proceeds of the National Lottery not paid out as prizes and hands them out to so-called 'good causes'. A source close to Mr Desmond described the £70m payment as money that could have helped fund British Olympic athletes or other major UK charities. Northern and Shell's latest lawsuit comes amid an acrimonious fallout set to be settled in the High Court later this year. Mr Desmond has launched a separate £1.3bn claim against the regulator for failing to award him the fourth National Lottery licence, as he claims the bidding process for the 10-year contract was unfair. The dispute was thrown into chaos earlier this year after the Gambling Commission's lawyers accidentally sent thousands of confidential documents to Mr Desmond's legal team. A judge recently ruled that Northern and Shell could rely on the majority of the material in court. Mr Desmond has since been forced to deny accusations that he cannot afford to fight the case. Earlier this month, the Gambling Commission and Allwyn told a judge that his companies cannot afford the legal costs associated with the case, a claim that Northern and Shell has vigorously denied. Sa'ad Hossain KC, representing Northern and Shell, stressed that the company had 'sufficient funds'. Lawyers acting for Allwyn told the court that Northern and Shell would be liable for at least £55m in legal costs if it lost the case. The Gambling Commission was contacted for comment. An Allwyn spokesman said: 'This is a legal dispute brought by Richard Desmond's Northern and Shell group against the Gambling Commission only. No proceedings have been brought by the Northern and Shell group against Allwyn or Camelot.' Mr Desmond declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Richard Desmond attacks £70m Lottery handout to Czech billionaire
Richard Desmond has launched a fresh legal claim against the Gambling Commission over a £70m handout granted to the National Lottery. The media mogul alleges that funds set aside for charitable donations under Camelot, the lottery's previous operator, constitute a 'subsidy' and should therefore be recovered from Allwyn, the current operator. The claim, lodged at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, represents an escalation of an increasingly bitter battle between Mr Desmond and the gambling regulator since he lost out to Allwyn in his bid to secure the fourth National Lottery licence. Allwyn, controlled by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, subsequently acquired Camelot after it gained control of the lottery. However, Allwyn's ownership has so far been beset by problems owing to a botched IT upgrade. Mr Desmond's Northern and Shell group, which owns the Health Lottery, claims that the Gambling Commission allowed Camelot, once it was under Allwyn's control, to take £70.21m from the National Lottery Distribution Fund to help bankroll marketing activities. 'The decision had the effect of granting to Camelot financial assistance which conferred an economic advantage, on the grounds that the subsidy provided Camelot with resources to market and promote the National Lottery,' court papers filed by Northern and Shell said. This, in turn, bolstered 'the National Lottery's competitive position in the relevant markets, to the ultimate benefit of Camelot and Allwyn'. Court battle The National Lottery Distribution Fund is a pot that essentially collects the proceeds of the National Lottery not paid out as prizes and hands them out to so-called 'good causes'. A source close to Mr Desmond described the £70m payment as money that could have helped fund British Olympic athletes or other major UK charities. Northern and Shell's latest lawsuit comes amid an acrimonious fallout set to be settled in the High Court later this year. Mr Desmond has launched a separate £1.3bn claim against the regulator for failing to award him the fourth National Lottery licence, as he claims the bidding process for the 10-year contract was unfair. The dispute was thrown into chaos earlier this year after the Gambling Commission's lawyers accidentally sent thousands of confidential documents to Mr Desmond's legal team. A judge recently ruled that Northern and Shell could rely on the majority of the material in court. Mr Desmond has since been forced to deny accusations that he cannot afford to fight the case. Earlier this month, the Gambling Commission and Allwyn told a judge that his companies cannot afford the legal costs associated with the case, a claim that Northern and Shell has vigorously denied. Sa'ad Hossain KC, representing Northern and Shell, stressed that the company had 'sufficient funds'. Lawyers acting for Allwyn told the court that Northern and Shell would be liable for at least £55m in legal costs if it lost the case. The Gambling Commission was contacted for comment.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
DHSC's £122m claim against Michelle Mone-linked company reaches high court
The high court will on Wednesday begin hearing the government's multimillion-pound legal claim against the company awarded two personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during the Covid pandemic after the Conservative peer Michelle Mone recommended it to ministers. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) sued in December 2022 for return of the £122m it paid to the company, PPE Medpro, for 25m sterile surgical gowns, which were rejected after delivery to the UK. That contract, and another worth £80.85m to supply face masks, were processed via the then Conservative government's 'VIP lane', which gave high priority to companies recommended by people with political connections. Mone, who rose to prominence running her lingerie company, Ultimo, was appointed to the House of Lords by David Cameron in 2015. After PPE Medpro's contracts were published in 2020, lawyers for Mone and her husband, the Isle of Man-based businessman Doug Barrowman, denied that the couple were involved in the company. In a series of reports in 2022, the Guardian revealed that the couple were involved, and that Mone had first approached the then Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove. In November 2022, the Guardian reported that leaked documents produced by HSBC bank showed that at least £65m from PPE Medpro's profits had been paid to Barrowman's accounts in the Isle of Man. He then transferred £29m to an offshore trust whose beneficiaries were Mone and her three adult children, according to the documents. In November of the following year, the couple acknowledged for the first time that they were involved in PPE Medpro. A month later Mone admitted in an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that she had lied to the media. Barrowman said he had made more than £60m in profits from the PPE contracts, and transferred money to the trust, adding that the beneficiaries included his children too. PPE Medpro had said in a statement in December 2020 that it was 'proud' that the gowns and face masks it provided had 'undoubtedly helped keep our NHS workers safe'. In fact, while the face masks were accepted, the gowns had been rejected by the DHSC and were never used in the NHS. In December 2022 the government sued the company after questions were asked in parliament following the Guardian's reporting. In the same month Mone took a leave of absence from the House of Lords. In its legal claim the DHSC alleges that it rejected the gowns because they were not sterile and could have compromised patient safety, their technical labelling was 'invalid' and 'improper', and they 'cannot be used within the NHS for any purpose'. The court action is for payment of the full £122m the DHSC paid to the company, plus £11m for storage and disposal costs, and interest. PPE Medpro has insisted throughout that the gowns were manufactured in China to the correct specification and sterility, and said from the start that it would defend the legal action. This week as the case is to open, the company maintained that position. In a statement, a spokesperson said: 'PPE Medpro categorically denies breaching its obligations to DHSC in the supply of sterile surgical gowns during the Covid pandemic and it will robustly defend these claims in court.' The DHSC has said it does not comment on active legal proceedings. The high court action is separate to the long-running investigation by the National Crime Agency into whether Mone and Barrowman committed any criminal offences during the process of procuring the contracts. The NCA executed search warrants on the couple's homes and other properties in April 2022, and in January 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service obtained a court order freezing £75m of their assets. Mone and Barrowman did not contest that application, and have denied any criminal wrongdoing.
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The Coogee home at the centre of a $40million family feud
The mistress of a wealthy businessman has made a successful legal claim to a slice of his $40million estate after he left his entire fortune to his daughter. Sydney man Giovanni 'John' Angius, 85, died in January 2022 and an ugly family feud erupted as a result of leaving his entire $40million estate to his daughter Jenny and nothing to his son Robert. John's late-in-life lover Thi Quy Le, 61, and his 34-year-old granddaughter Natalie Angius - who has multiple sclerosis and other serious health problems - launched separate legal actions claiming they were both entitled to part of the estate. Both were successful in their claims, with Natalie - Robert's estranged daughter - receiving $2.5 million, and Ms Le getting $250,000 and a commercial property. Jenny Angius - despite her vast inheritance - filed an appeal challenging the judge's finding that the granddaughter was eligible for that money. However the NSW Court of Appeal last week dismissed that legal challenge. Last year, the dark and bloody history of the family was aired in the NSW Supreme Court and included revelations that Mr Angius began an affair with Ms Le while still married to his wife Laura Angius. Laura was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her $6million home in Coogee, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, in 2012, with Robert accusing his father of playing a hand in her death. Court documents revealed the married couple had a strained relationship, with an apprehended violence order taken out against John five years earlier. Laura took her daughter Jenny to the lawyers in the same year to draft a will and protect her children in the case that she died before her husband. John owned a smash repairs business in Waterloo, which is where he met Ms Le, who is 27 years his junior, in 2000. She claims they started having an affair in 2003 while he was still married to his wife. From 2005 to 2008, Ms Le managed a pool hall in Coogee, which was owned by Mr John and Laura. In February 2007, Laura confronted her husband at the business and alleged he was having an affair with Ms Le. The same argument kicked off again a month later at their home in Coogee, with Laura suffering injuries from a fall. She alleged John had hit her, which he denied, the Supreme Court heard. An AVO was taken out against John on his wife's behalf and he was charged with assault. Mr Angius pleaded guilty but no conviction was recorded, according to court documents. According to a police report, Robert allegedly confronted Ms Le at his father's smash repairs business and told her 'get out of the shop in Coogee' in May 2007. An AVO was taken out against Robert on behalf of Ms Le, court documents read. In June 2007, Ms Le was also granted an interim AVO against Laura, which was in place for two years. John and Laura eventually separated in 2011, which caused a major rift in the family. Jenny took her father's side, while his son Robert took the side of his mother, according to court documents. When Laura died in 2012, she left her $13 million estate to Robert. Following John's death on January 31, 2022, a funeral was held on February 5 with both Ms Le and Natalie in attendance. Less than a week after the funeral, Ms Le launched proceedings for her stake in the claim. Natalie commenced proceedings a little less than a year later in January 2023. In her evidence to the court, Natalie had claimed that during a visit to see her grandfather when he was ill in hospital in June 2021, he told her his final will written in April had been 'rushed through' and 'I need to change it'. John had provided Natalie with regular financial support when she was an adult, including giving her cash when she wasn't eligible for Centrelink. In return, the court heard Natalie had helped her grandfather in the last five years of his life, doing things such as shopping, cooking and assisting with paperwork and administrative tasks. The 34-year-old lives at home with her mother and does not work, with her various medical conditions taking a major toll on her life. Ms Le's claim that she was living as John's de facto partner was not accepted by Justice Mark Richmond, but he accepted they were in a 'close personal relationship' at the time of his death. According to court documents, between 2003 and 2011, John gave Ms Le $1,000 each week as an allowance. He also paid for household expenses like groceries, as well as for Ms Le to go shopping, buy cosmetics, eat out and visit nail salons. John also paid the bills of the laundromat Ms Le run, while also paying for her car insurance and servicing. He also gave her between $2,000 and $3,000 seven times a year on special occasions including Christmas and Valentine's Day. Ms Le had recorded conversations she had with John in 2019 and 2021, to prove she was in a de facto relationship with him. According to court documents, one conversation was of the pair discussing his will to which John said Ms Le was 'very greedy', and also asked whether she 'deserved' to be included. John was also known to refer to Ms Le as 'the Chinese lady'. The cases of Ms Le and Natalie were heard in court over several dates from October last year to February, with Justice Richmond handing down a decision on August 1. He ruled Ms Le was entitled to ownership of a block of units Mr Angius owned in Waterloo, which she ran as a laundromat, and $250,000. Ms Le had claimed she should be left with $31,000 to buy a new car, and accommodation similar to John's house in Coogee, where she sometime stayed, worth $3.45million. She also asked for a 'cash amount to allow her to live comfortably in her old age'. Natalie, who also lives with incontinence and has a high risk of ending up in a wheelchair, was given $2.5million from the estate. Natalie had asked for $950,000 for a suitably modified apartment for her medical conditions, $100,000 for a suitably modified car and a sum sufficient to provide a buffer and income in relation to future medical and care needs. After the judge's ruling, the businessman's daughter appealed the finding regarding her niece but the NSW Court of Appeal dismissed this in a decision on May 27. The court found no error in the original judge's finding, reports Sydney Morning Herald. The financial support the wealthy businessman provided after his granddaughter's diagnosis 'first to supplement her income and then in place of it, would have been sufficient to establish partial dependency', the court said. Mr Angius' estate was valued at $38million, and $29.5million after liabilities.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Talks to settle £120m legal claim against Vodafone end without success
Talks to settle a £120m legal claim between Vodafone and more than 60 of the mobile phone group's franchise operators have ended without resolution – leaving the case potentially heading for the high court. The case was filed in December with the claimants accusing Vodafone of 'unjustly enriching' itself by implementing a series of cost-cutting tactics as the UK emerged from initial Covid-19 restrictions in 2020. The drastic cuts to commission rates paid to franchisees were blamed for the small business owners running up huge personal debts and fearing for their livelihoods or homes, with some reporting suicidal thoughts. A group of 62 of about 150 Vodafone franchise operators joined the legal claim against the telecoms company. Vodafone has said it apologises 'unreservedly to anyone whose experiences while operating their business has impacted [their health] in this way' and added that 'where issues have been raised, we have sought to rectify these and we believe we have treated our franchisees fairly'. The opposing sides had been engaging in a series of mediation talks, but they failed to come to an agreement. A spokesperson for the claimants said: 'As a group, we entered into the mediation process with the best intentions. We are extremely frustrated that the process failed to resolve this dispute, which would have allowed both parties to move on. 'Our group was formed because Vodafone's decisions have caused significant and direct harm to the individuals' businesses and lives. We will now continue our efforts to seek justice through the court process. We remain absolutely committed to securing redress and accountability for everyone affected.' Margherita Della Valle, the chief executive of the Vodafone group, said that despite the initial talks failing to end the dispute, the company intends to engage in further discussions. 'The commercial dispute is specifically between Vodafone UK and some of our franchisees,' she said, delivering the company's results for the year to the end of March. 'Our first joint attempt at mediation has not resolved the dispute despite our best engagement. We remain open to further discussions as the process continues.' Vodafone, which reported an annual pre-tax loss of €1.5bn (£1.26bn) due to non-cash write-downs at its struggling German and Romanian operations, is in the process of completing a deal to merge its UK operation with rival Three to create the UK's biggest mobile phone operator. She said that the merger will involve job cuts where the two businesses have a duplication of functions and roles, although overall it will create jobs as it embarks on an €11bn upgrade and expansion of its 5G network over the next decade. 'Across the two companies there will inevitably be some overlaps that will create synergies [job cuts],' she said. 'However, overall we expect the merger to create jobs in the UK. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'From a pure headcount perspective the reduction that comes from overlaps between two companies will be more than compensated in [new jobs due to] network build implications. It will be positive in terms of employment.' Vodafone said that its turnaround plan for its biggest market, Germany, which has lost customers due to a change in pay-TV laws, is nearing its end as the group now plans for 'growth acceleration'. She also said that while the newly announced UK-EU trade deal would not impact its operations directly the better cooperation across Europe would only prove beneficial for infrastructure companies. 'Think about telecoms being critical national infrastructure,' she said. 'It is important for our companies to have scale and good levels of investment. It is also important given the geopolitical environment that the UK and Europe have good security and resilience in that critical infrastructure. 'In that sense cooperation between the UK and Europe will benefit from increased cooperation.'
