SIXTEENTH OCEAN GMBH & CO KG V SOCIETE GENERALE [2018] EWHC 1731 (COMM)

In Sixteenth Ocean GMBH & Co KG v Societe Generale [2018] EWHC 1731 (Comm) Peter de Verneuil Smith appeared for the borrower in a swap dispute in which the borrower sought to recover monies paid to the bank pursuant to economic duress. The question was at what point in time the bank was enriched in respect of payment made by a borrower which was subject to a sanctions regime. Peter MacDonald Eggers QC found that the bank was enriched by as soon as it received monies into its account as agent notwithstanding the monies were immediately placed into a suspense account and there was no evidence of book entries being made to transfer monies out of the suspense account. The decision paves the wave for an increased scope for the liability of banks for unjust enrichment.  Permission to appeal has been given.

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