A group of lawyers is looking for money from sanctioned Russians to hand over to Ukrainians
British lawyers, led by McCue Jury & Partners and Mishcon de Reya LLP, are looking for investors to help them secure billions of dollars held by sanctioned Russian individuals and legal entities. The edition told in more detail Bloomberg.

Photo: IStock
Lawyers have turned to hedge funds, family offices and litigation finance firms for funding to file lawsuits against sanctioned Russians, according to people familiar with the matter.
The proceeds will be mainly used to compensate Ukrainians for losses incurred as a result of the Russian invasion, and investors will receive a share of all successful lawsuits, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussion is private.
According to a group of lawyers calling themselves the Alliance for Justice in Ukraine, this initiative could help raise up to $1 trillion. But unlocking sanctioned assets, most of which are held in opaque offshore accounts, will be a complex and lengthy process with little legal precedent.
"I'm not shying away from the fact that this is a ground-breaking case that we're looking at," said Ben Brandon, a partner at London-based Mishcon. “A lot will depend on the “appetite” of clients, sponsors and courts.”
Funding lawsuits against government officials and Russians with alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to be fraught with legal difficulties, one of the interlocutors said, adding that enforcement of any court order to seize assets would be very difficult.
On the subject: The arrested superyacht of the Russian tycoon will be sold at auction: the money will be given to an American bank
At least one hedge fund has already turned down the offer, another source said. A third interlocutor said that some investors are considering donating cash to fund the lawsuit.
To complicate matters further, some 20 sanctioned Russians, including Mikhail Fridman, Roman Abramovich and Petr Aven, have filed lawsuits in a European court to have the sanctions lifted.
The coalition of lawyers that formed the alliance shortly after the Russian invasion first tried to raise money from Ukrainian billionaires but failed. They are also working on building a crowdfunding platform to raise money from individuals. The project's partners include a number of other law firms, as well as investigative media company Bellingcat.
money for refugees
The initiative offers a potential solution to the problem that Western governments are now grappling with after sweeping sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine: whether they can confiscate billions of dollars of assets that have been frozen.
According to Brandon, the project will overcome legal challenges by borrowing little by little from different jurisdictions and areas of law. In the past, Mishcon represented wealthy Russians under the VIP Russia service, which included asset structuring and protection, and was put on hold following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The group has already identified $200bn in assets, according to Jason McCue, founding partner of London-based McCue Jury & Partners. Lawyers are now seeking funding to file lawsuits against sanctioned Russians in the UK on behalf of 50 Ukrainian refugees, according to McCue. .
Explosion in Omag
Bringing a civil action to obtain financial compensation for victims of terrorist acts is not without precedent. The Belfast Civil Court has awarded close to US$2 million in compensation to relatives of some of the victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing, which was carried out by a group calling itself the Real Irish Republican Army. In this case, McCue also represented the plaintiff group. However, this lawsuit was funded by UK taxpayers and not by private firms.
You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.
Litigation finance, where investors provide cash to fund a costly litigation in exchange for a share if the case succeeds, is a rapidly growing investment industry. By 2028, the sector will almost double from $17 billion last year, according to insurer Swiss Re.
The funds are used to finance a variety of legal cases, from high-profile divorce cases to helping indigenous tribes fight a mining company accused of destroying their homes, as well as more mundane business disputes.
While some argue that litigation funding improves access to justice, the industry is under scrutiny due to the lack of transparency and fees that funders charge plaintiffs.
“Without litigation funding, there is no way for companies that have suffered loss or damage, and more importantly for people, to seek recovery for what they have lost,” Brandon said.
Read also on ForumDaily:
Three important facts about Medicare insurance: not knowing them can cost you a pretty penny
Frost and snow already on Halloween: what will the weather be like in autumn in the USA
Five Immigration Mistakes Even Smart People Make
17 sites with which you can learn English
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google NewsDo you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.