On 28 March 2022, the first day of the pre-trial review was held before the judge at the High Court in London, aimed at ensuring the claim proceeds to trial in the most efficient way. A core component for consideration by the English court was an attempt by the defendants to argue for an adjournment of the trial, currently due to start in June 2022, on the grounds of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The English court has granted the defendants’ application on adjournment.

Whilst we are disappointed that the trial has been adjourned until June 2023, the Bank is confident that we will reach justice and ultimately succeed in recovering the sums that have been misappropriated as alleged in the claim, even if that recovery will now be later than we had previously hoped. In the meantime, interest on the sum claimed continues to accrue at around US$500,000 per day which will increase our claim up to c. US$4.5bn, and the worldwide freezing order remains in effect.