Summary
The Claimant applied for the committal of the First Defendant to prison, for contempt of an order made by the Court on the 21 May 2015. Whipple J considered the Defendant’s late production of evidence demonstrated an attitude towards participating when it suited him. The Defendant was further criticized for failing to apologise for failures and seeking to excuse his own behavior in a manner that was found to be implausible. In considering sentence, the Court followed the approach of Popplewell J in Asia Islamic Trade Finance Fund Ltd v Drum Risk Management Ltd [2015] EWHC 3748 (Comm).
Result
A sentence 21 months imprisonment was deemed to be commensurate with the seriousness of the offending.
Comment
Whipple J gave some credit for the belated attempts of the Defendant to comply with the order, stating that she had been minded to impose the maximum sentence of two years imprisonment.
