Commercial Law — Court discharges ex parte injunction obtained by Russian billionaire in Hong Kong
Commercial Law
In Keenact Ltd & Ors v Elena Siivinen & Ors [2025] HKCFI 938, the Court (per DHCJ Maria Yuen) set aside worldwide Mareva and proprietary injunctions and ancillary disclosure orders made against the 1st defendant. The Judge further stayed all further proceedings in the action on the ground of forum non conveniens, having found that the most natural and appropriate forum to try the dispute is Russia.
In setting aside the ex parte injunction orders, the Court held that there had been inordinate delay on the part of the plaintiffs which demonstrated a lack of urgency, given that the underlying allegations arose some 12 to 16 years ago. Further, the judge held that the plaintiffs, in applying for the ex parte injunctions had failed to disclose material facts including that the plaintiff had sent two demand letters to the 1st defendant prior to the commencement of the proceedings, which should have been brought to the attention of the ex parte judge as they would have demonstrated a lack of secrecy. Given the judge’s conclusion that the proceedings ought to be stayed in favour of Russia, a re-grant of the injunctions was not ordered.
James Wood and Tiffany Yau, instructed by Timothy Loh LLP, appeared for the 1st defendant.
James Wood
James is a seasoned litigator with over 25 years of experience in Hong Kong. He is particularly recognised for his expertise in restructuring and insolvency, commercial fraud and financial disputes, including disputes involving asset tracing and recovery.
Before joining the Bar, James was most recently a Solicitor Advocate and Partner at Lipman Karas, now Karas So LLP in Association with Mishcon de Reya.
View James’ profile.
Tiffany Yau
Tiffany is a Charles Ching Scholar. She joined Chambers in 2021 after completing her pupillage with Mr Chan Chi Hung SC, Mr Clement Lau, Mr Earl Deng, Mr Tim Parker and Mr Justin Ho.
Tiffany obtained her LLB from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with First Class Honours. She went on to obtain her BCL from the University of Oxford with Merit overall and Distinction in Commercial Remedies.
Before being called to the Bar, Tiffany was a Judicial Assistant to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal from 2019 to 2020.
Tiffany is developing a broad practice and accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ work. She is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
View Tiffany’s profile here.
This article was first published on 14 March 2025.
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