The judgment has finally revealed the truth about the events which set in train significant negative publicity about the Group, which has been ongoing for many years. It is now clear that a number of parties, including the law firm which earlier represented ENRC as well as senior officers of the SFO, breached their duties and/or acted in bad faith against ENRC.

In a judgment made public today following a 47-day trial between May and September 2021, the High Court has made unprecedented findings of “extraordinary” (§279) and “almost unimaginable” (§432) misconduct by ENRC’s former solicitor, Neil Gerrard, and three former SFO officers.

Michael Roberts, the Partner at Hogan Lovells International LLP with conduct of the proceedings on behalf of ENRC, said: “Sadly, it is now clear that ENRC was betrayed and exploited as Dechert sought to maximise its own billings, even to the extent of leaking privileged material in order to prompt action by the SFO. Far from the integrity and fairness to be expected of a government law enforcement agency, the SFO was itself complicit in Dechert’s dishonest conduct.”

A spokesperson for ENRC said: “We repeatedly urged both Dechert and the SFO to examine the evidence, and to draw the obvious conclusions. At every turn, we were rebuffed, and both Dechert's and the SFO's leadership chose, at great expense, to defend the indefensible. As much as ENRC welcomes today's judgment, it is also profoundly concerned by the very serious implications for other Dechert clients and other subjects of SFO investigations.”

More detail is here: https://enrcnews.com/