Quinn Emanuel's London office has achieved a significant victory in one of the most substantial fraud cases of the decade. Under the leadership of London Co-Managing Partner Ted Greeno, the team successfully defended former Arcadia Petroleum executives against allegations brought by Norwegian multi-billionaire John Fredriksen's Farahead Holdings.
Working with Richard Eschwege KC, the Quinn Emanuel team developed and executed a comprehensive defense strategy that resulted in Mr Justice Henshaw delivering a detailed 429-page judgment. The Court's decision not only vindicated the executives but specifically recognized their "single-minded loyalty" to Arcadia throughout their tenure. Allegations that the executives had concealed oil trading profits from Farahead and Mr Fredriksen were held to be “untenable or non-existent”. Another key allegation was held to have “no coherent basis whatever and should never have been pursued”. In reaching these findings, the Judge relied in particular on a document wrongly withheld on grounds of privilege which was inadvertently revealed by Farahead’s legal team shortly before the trial.
The significance of this victory is underscored by the challenging circumstances the executives faced, having operated under the constraints of a worldwide asset freezing order for a decade. This resolution represents both a legal triumph and the restoration of the executives' professional reputations and personal liberty.
The successful outcome reflects the exceptional work of the entire Quinn Emanuel team, including Adrian Forster, Becca Coyle, Neerja Gurnani, Nathan Masih-Hanneghan, Jan Raeimon Nato, and Jonathan Pond. Their collective expertise and dedication were instrumental in securing this landmark result.