Peters & Peters acted for the successful defendant, Mr Eugene Jaffe, in High Court proceedings brought by Mr Kirill Stein relating to an alleged trust said to have arisen following meetings in Moscow in 2012. At those meetings Mr Jaffe, Mr Stein, and a Russian businessman, Mr Vasily Anisimov, discussed the provision of litigation services to Mr Ansimov in connection with claims brought against him by Mr Boris Berezovsky.

The key issue in dispute in the proceedings was whether Mr Anisimov had orally agreed to deposit $2 million with Mr Jaffe for onward payment to Mr Stein, such that a $2 million payment made subsequently by Mr Anisimov to an offshore entity was held on trust by Mr Jaffe for Mr Stein.

Mr Jaffe successfully defended the claim on the basis that the evidence showed that Mr Anisimov had no intention to create a trust for the benefit of Mr Stein. The Court preferred Mr Jaffe’s explanation that Mr Anisimov’s payment was a gesture of good faith and that Mr Stein’s entitlement to payment for work for Mr Anisimov was contingent on other steps being taken.

Jason Woodland and Holly Buick acted for Mr Jaffe and instructed Lisa Lacob and Devon Airey of 3VB.