Following is a synopsis of the Judgement of Justice Sir Anthony Colman, as provided to the Observer by Trustee in Bankruptcy Hugh Wildman:

On 11 November, 2009, Justice Sir Anthony Colman handed down his judgement in relation to the proceedings in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court commenced by the Trustee against Carlos Hill, Bertram Hill and Hill Group Limited, to freeze accounts and assets alleged to be held in the DIFC. A local freezing and disclosure order was obtained on 27 September 2009 ex parte. At the subsequent hearings, Justice Sir Anthony Colman discharged this freezing and disclosure order.

Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd was joined to this case for the purpose of providing disclosure of information and documents relating to accounts alleged to be held in the DIFC by Carlos Hill, Bertram Hill and Hill Group Limited.

The disclosure order against Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd had initially been granted ex parte and on the basis of an unsolicited email sent to the Trustee by a Mr Ali Saed, who claimed in the e-mail that he was a former employee of Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd and that he had information that accounts in the name of Hill Group Limited existed at Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd.

The Trustee arranged an air ticket for Mr Saed to fly to Dubai from Canada to assist his office with its investigations in this regard on the understanding that Mr Saed would travel to Jamaica with the necessary information. However, upon his arrival in Dubai, I (Wildman) did not hear from Mr Saed.

Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd filed evidence during the course of the proceedings, which confirmed that it is not licenced to open accounts to hold client monies or assets in the DIFC, therefore, it does not hold any accounts in the DIFC. Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd also confirmed that Mr Saed was not a former employee and brought to the attention of the DIFC Court serious errors and anomalies in the information contained in Mr Saed’s email.

At the DIFC court hearing on 14 October 2009, Sir Anthony Colman discharged the disclosure order against Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd and refused to grant my application to extend the order of disclosure. Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd has been removed as a party to the Proceedings and has no further involvement in this matter.

On 11 November 2009, Justice Sir Anthony Colman handed down his written judgement in this case, in which he made the following findings:

1. The unsolicited email from Mr Ali Saed was almost certainly bogus and could not justify the making of the Freezing and Disclosure Order.

2. The information the Trustee received from Mr Saed of accounts linked to Carlos Hill, Betram Hill and Hill Group Ltd alleged to be held in Dubai and thought to hold US$25 million was not correct. The probability is that Mr Saed was perpetrating a fraud on my office for the purpose of obtaining an air ticket from Canada to Dubai.

3. It is clear that the evidence of the business activities of Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd is true and that Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd does not provide bank account facilities and does not hold monies or assets of clients. Therefore, on the whole of the evidence in this case there was a failure to satisfy the standard proof that Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd held bank deposits or assets or information as to the property of or relating to Cash Plus to justify the granting of the disclosure order and further there was insufficient evidence to amend the disclosure order.

4. The Trustee failed to give full and frank disclosure at the Without Notice application and failed to make all due and proper enquiries to establish the scope and limitation of the DIFC license of Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd, namely that Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd does not hold client accounts or assets in the DIFC. The Trustee’s omissions have caused allegations to be made for which there was no reliable evidence and has made it necessary for Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd to come to the DIFC Court to put the record straight and disengage from the proceedings.

On the basis of the above findings, Sir Anthony Colman ordered that:

• The Disclosure Order against Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd is discharged.

• Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd is entitled to be paid its costs by the Trustee on an indemnity basis.

• Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd will cease to be a party to the proceedings.

• I take all reasonable steps to procure that this brief synopsis of the judgement is published in the Jamaica Observer.

You can read the full text of Sir Anthony Colman’s judgement at the Judgements and Orders link on the DIFC Court’s website at www.difccourts.complinet.com.

Hugh Wildman, Trustee in Bankruptcy and Liquidator of Cash Plus Limited and Receiver of Cash Plus — Subsidiaries and Affiliates

February 2, 2010