Lawyers want hedge funds to aid them in confiscating Russia’s billions
Money managers are approached of the initiative by attorneys
Group desires to seize the assets of Russians who are under sanctions
The initiative has been pitched to money managers for investment
The industry has drawn scrutiny for their lack of transparency
To pursue billions of funds held by Russian individuals and businesses that have been sanctioned, attorneys led by McCue Jury & Partners and Mischon de Reya LLP are seeking investments from money managers.
Lawyers looking for financing to bring legal claims against sanctioned Russians have approached litigation finance companies, hedge funds, and family offices.
The money would be used to reimburse Ukranians for damages experienced in the wake of Russia’s invasion, with investors receiving a portion of any successful claims.
The group of lawyers identifying themselves as the Ukraine Justice Alliance claim that the project has the potential to unleash as much as $1 trillion of Russian money. However, accessing the sanctioned assets, many of which are situated in shady offshore locations, will be a difficult and time consuming operation with little legal precedence.
The idea offers a potential answer to a problem that Western countries are currently facing after the imposition of broad sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: can they seize the billion dollars of frozen assets?
A rapidly expanding area of the investment world is litigation finance, in which investors advance money to pay for an expensive legal struggle in exchange for a percentage of the verdict. The industry is projected to grow from $17 billion in 2017 to nearly double by 2028. It has been utilised to support legal actions ranging from high-profile divorce cases to assisting native tribes in suing a mining company accused of damaging their homes, as well as more routine business issues.
