Tchenguiz brothers to sue fraud squad for £200m in damages
The Tchenguiz brothers Vincent and Robert yesterday filed a claim against the director of the Serious Fraud Office for more than £200m over the agency’s botched pursuit of the property tycoons last year.
The case, which relates to a high profile raid on the brothers over their dealings with failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, is the largest known claim against the SFO and dwarfs its £36.8m annual budget.
The trial is pencilled in for January 2014 and will last eight weeks. Vincent Tchenguiz is seeking £200m in damages. Robert Tchenguiz has not disclosed the sum involved but it is thought to be less than £200m. “Significant financial loss can be proved to have occurred as a result of the reckless actions of the former director of the SFO,” Vincent Tchenguiz said.
The SFO did not comment.