CL-2022-000456 - [2025] EWHC 1938 (Comm)

The Banks’ witnesses were straightforward, but the significance of their evidence was limited.

It was clear from the evidence of SocGen’s main witness, Mr Michel Colbert, that SocGen’s decisions in relation to the Bonds were entirely reliant on the position of the French authority, discussed in Section XXXVIII below. Mr Renato Caviglia of SocGen Milan said that SocGen Milan relied on the views of SocGen’s head office in Paris.

I understood from ING’s witness, Mr Enrico Falcone, that the ING branch in Milan deferred to ING’s head office in Amsterdam.

It was apparent that all three of the Banks’ witnesses were concerned to comply properly with the EU sanctions. They were conscious not merely that this was an important part of their jobs, but that they, personally, might face criminal prosecution if they did not comply. Mr Colbert, in particular, mentioned the possibility of SocGen facing a fine of 10 times the sum involved, and of individuals facing up to five years in prison.