Claim No: CL-2023-000687 - [2025] EWHC 1157 (Comm)

On 21 July 2022, Virgo paid the Deposit into the RSUK USD Client Account. By 5 September 2022, Virgo had paid the Balance into that account. These payments were made from an account in Virgo’s name at Ajman Bank in the UAE.

The terms governing the RSUK USD Client Account as between RSUK and Barclays are principally contained in two documents: “the Customer Agreement Core Terms” (“the Core Terms”) and the “Customer Agreement – Country Terms (United Kingdom)” (“the Country Terms”).

Clause 4.1 of the Core Terms provides that “Barclays is not obliged to make any payment from an account that, in its opinion, may damage its reputation, or break a law, regulation, or sanction.” By Clause 4.6, RSUK agreed “not to give an instruction which would cause Barclays to breach sanctions imposed by, or the law of, any country affecting Barclays.”

Clause 7.2 of the Country Terms provides:

“[RSUK] must provide Barclays with any information it requests, now or in the future, about [RSUK], its use of an account or service, a payment, or the origin or destination of funds. [RSUK] must notify Barclays if there is a change to its regulatory status or any information [RSUK] had provided previously in an Application.”

Clause 10.1 of the Country Terms provides that “Barclays may, at any time and without notice, set off any of the Customer obligations (whether joint, several, future or contingent) to Barclays or any other member of the Barclays Group against any liability of Barclays to the Customer in any country.” However, that right is excluded where “the Customer holds that balance on behalf of another person and has informed Barclays of that, and …Barclays has acknowledged this in writing or the account is designated as a ‘client’ or ‘trust’ account.”

Finally, Clause 16 of the Country Terms provides that “the UK Customer Agreement, and any non contractual obligations arising from it, are governed by English law” and that “the English courts have exclusive jurisdiction.”