LONDON: The UK High Court of Justice has permitted Broadsheet LLC to serve freezing orders inside Pakistan on National Accountability Bureau (NAB) headquarters and Attorney General of Pakistan’s office in the Islamabad after bureau's London lawyers failed to respond to court orders over several weeks.
Broadsheet LLC had further approached the High Court of Justice – after securing a freezing order for nearly £1 million at the United Bank Limited London branch – pleading that NAB’s lawyers at the Allen & Ovary were not responding to their correspondence and the latest court orders which implies the Allen & Overy had gone off the record, and were no more instructed by NAB which also meant that the Pak government doesn’t currently have a legal representation in the ongoing litigation brought by Broadsheet LLC’s Kaveh Moussavi.
This correspondent has seen the latest court order, issued by the Commercial Court, by Master Davison. The order said that the court was making the permission as Broadsheet LLC had made an application to serve the Interim Order on the Defendants out of the jurisdiction in accordance with the State Immunity Act 1978 and upon reading the written evidence filed in support of the Application.It orders that Broadsheet LLC has “permission to serve the Interim Order, the application notice, and all other documents filed in support of the Claimant’s application for the Interim Order on the Defendants out of the jurisdiction at the following addresses, such service to be effected in accordance with the State Immunity Act 1978 and CPR 6.44(2): a. First Defendant: Office of the Attorney General, 3rd Floor, Supreme Court Building, 44000 Constitution Avenue, Islamabad, Pakistan. b. Second Defendant: Attaturk Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad, Pakistan.”
The order further says that Pakistan may, if so advised, file and serve on Broadsheet LLC written evidence stating any grounds of objection to the Court, making a final third party debt order not less than three days before the Hearing.
The court has mentioned that it was allowing Broadsheet LLC to serve the claim outside of the UK jurisdiction pursuant to several awards and orders made by the UK High Court of Justice in the last two years in favour of Broadsheet LLC.
The court referred to the interim third party debt order of Master Davison dated February 15, 2021 made on the application of Broadsheet LLC which would be heard on July 30, 2021 for further consideration for a third-party debt order.
Kaveh Moussavi, speaking to this correspondent, confirmed that he will be serving the order inside Pakistan through a Pakistani law firm in this week.
He said: “The government of Pakistan (GoP) is not paying the balance and has forced us to freeze more of their assets. They are failing to instruct their London lawyers to enter a consent Order so the bank will pay over the balance of the judgment debt. They are failing to instruct their London lawyers to accept service (of the order). The result is more legal costs that they incur, more interest that accumulates and more bad publicity in the financial markets, confirming that the GoP is not a law abiding government and that the cost of credit to it should take that into account, hence higher interest in its debts.”
Around three weeks ago, the UBL London branch froze Pakistan’s account in compliance with an order issued three weeks ago by the London High Court in favour of the Broadsheet LLC.
The UBL has informed the Broadsheet LLC and the London High Court in writing that Pakistan government’s account, operated by Pakistan High Commission London, with around £1 million in it has been frozen until next orders of the London High court.
On February 15, 2021, the London High Court froze funds that Pakistan High Commission holds with United National Bank in London up to the value of $1,222,037.90 plus costs to be determined by the court at a hearing in June.
The UK High Court of Justice had issued a new freezing order three weeks ago in favour of Broadsheet LLC and against the NAB, ordering that no payments shall be released to the GoP by the UBL to any other party from the accounts held by the Pakistan government unless the judgment debt and interest of around £1 million are settled.
The order was made on the application of Broadsheet LLC after Pakistani government failed to respond to Braodsheet’s communication for the payment in the remaining judgment debt – after Pakistan paid around $28 million to Broadsheet at the end December 2020 after Pakistan’s accounts were frozen.