Thomas Beazley QC

Tom’s practice principally involves substantial commercial (including insurance and reinsurance) and financial services cases, frequently with a significant foreign or fraud element, both in court, arbitration and regulatory proceedings.

Frequently Tom’s cases have involved serious allegations of fraud or misconduct, particularly of professional people, in different jurisdictions around the world, such as the Tajik Aluminium v Rusal cases, Jafari-Fini v Skill Glass, the Brunei cases, the Ranbaxy case, The NYP cases (in the USA), Glidepath v Thompson & others, the Morgan Grenfell/Peter Young cases, the News International v Clinger litigation, in re Q’s estate and the subsequent arbitration, the Dobb White cases, the Nauru case, Ansbacher v Binks Stern, the Bank Bumiputra Hong Kong affair (eg R v. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate ex parte Osman, In re Oriental Credit Ltd  , the National Bank of Brunei affair.

Many of these cases, such as Glidepath v Thompson, In Re Q’s Estate, and Phoenix Finance v FOM Management, the Brunei cases  have involved freezing and other interim orders and relief (such as stays for arbitration).

Litigation and advice regarding the conduct of directors and professional advisers, including in relation to take-overs and mergers, for example:

• Tajik Aluminium v Rusal
• Jafari-Fini v Skillglass
• Guild (Claims) Ltd v Eversheds (a firm) & others In re Q’s estate  and the subsequent arbitration
• The Republic of Nauru’s claims against Australian solicitors Allen, Allen & Hemsley
• DTI investigations, including the Atlantic Computers DTI investigation
• Henry Ansbacher v Binks Stern
• BFG Bank AG v Brown & Mumford
• The Guinness take-over of Distillers
• Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland after the take-over of Pathe Communications/Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Tom has acted in many large insurance and reinsurance cases (many of which remain confidential): for example, Enterprise Oil v Strand, Konkola Copper v Zambian State Insurance, Wheeler and Others v Colseguros and Others, Challenge Finance, and arbitrations for Eagle Star and the Charman syndicates, Sheldon v Outhwaite  and Via Assurances v Oceanus

He has appeared in the European Court of Justice (for example, Kleinwort Benson v Glasgow City Council [1996] QB 57) and has appeared, assisted or advised in relation to cases in many other jurisdictions, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brunei and the USA

Tom has been appointed as an examiner and an arbitrator, including an appointment by the London Court of International Arbitration as an arbitrator for a dispute concerning international oil sales

Tom has published various articles on Private International Law and Financial Services, and was the joint author of the Report of the Bar Council and the Law Society to the Law Commission on Choice of Law in Tort and Delict.

A selection of the cases in which Tom has been instructed over the last few years is included below:

• Tajik Aluminium v Rusal
• Enterprise oil v Strand
• Jafari-Fini v Skillglass
• Apostolides v Orams
• Optigen v HMCE
• Konkola Copper Mine V Zambian Insurance
• CTIL & others v Gandhi & others [2004] EWHC 24 (Ch)
• Tarling and another v Wabara [2003] EWHC 450
• Optigen Ltd v The Commissioners of Customs and Excise, V&DT 1 May 2003, CH D 28 July 2003
• Linvertar Finance Limited v Ankor International & another Bahamas CA 21.7.03
• Komarek v Ramco Energy [2002] All ER (D) 314
• The State of Brunei & another v Pengiran Tengah Brunei CA May 2002
• NYP v Wong & others, USA cases 2000/2001
• Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co v HRH Prince Jefri Ch D, 9 March 2001
• The State of Brunei & another v HRH Prince Jefri Brunei CA May 2000
• In re Q’s Estate [1999] 1 Ll R 931

Contributor to Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure (First Edition), edited by David Ormerod and Clare Montgomery QC

Regulatory proceedings:

Before the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, Tom conducted, and advised on, many of the largest disciplinary proceedings for the SROs (particularly the Securities and Futures Authority), such as the SFA disciplinary proceedings:

• against Nomura and its traders in respect of arbitrage in Australia
• against Reed and Murch
• against BZW
• against Dootson

Under the new regulatory regime, Tom has led some of the major cases, including the Split Capital Investment Trust matters and the first market abuse case in the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal: FSA v Davidson.

Tom has also acted against regulatory bodies (e.g. FSCS v GE Life and the FSA v Dobb White cases) and advised companies and firms in numerous confidential financial services matters.

The Split Capital Investment Trust cases

FSCS v GELFM

FSA v Davidson

Financial Ombudsman cases

Tom acts in a number of EU and Competition cases, including Apostolides v Orams which has now been referred to the ECJ, The Secretary of State for Health & others v Ranbaxy (UK) Ltd & others, and Corus v Welsh Water, and various confidential  cases on access to previous monopolies. He successfully represented Optigen in its case in the ECJ Optigen v HMCE.

Apostolides v Orams

Optigen v HMCE

Corus v Welsh Water

Tom has specialised in Private International Law academically, and throughout his time at the bar.

Amongst his cases involving PIL are the following:

• Apostolides v Orams
• Tajik Aluminium v Rusal
• Glidepath v Thompson
• Komarek v Ramco [2002] All ER D 324 (Nov)
• Phoenix v FIA [2002] EWHC 1028 (Ch)
• Berezovsky v Michaels and others [2000] 1 WLR 1004 (House of Lords)
• Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Glasgow City Council [1999] AC 153 (House of Lords) [1996] QB 57 (European Court of Justice) and 678 Court of Appeal), [1994] QB 404
• Re Polly Peck International Plc (in administration) [1998] 2 BCLC 185
• Re BCCI (No 10) [1997] Ch 213
• Continental Bank v Aeakos [1994] 1 Ll R 505 (Court of Appeal)
• Marinari v Lloyd’s Bank [1993] All ER EC 84 (European Court of Justice, where he acted for the UK Government)
• Kurz v Stella Musical [1992] Ch 196
• Owens Bank v Bracco [1992] 2 AC 443 (House of Lords)