Millions spent, reputations battered: Fraud watchdog, Dechert and ENRC legal war reaches an end
Years of bitter litigation, millions of pounds in legal fees, and severe reputational damage: the disastrous, decade-long feud between a Kazakh mining giant, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and a heavy-hitting City law firm has finally ended with a confidential settlement.
Mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) launched legal action against the law firm Dechert, its former white-collar head Neil Gerrard and the UK fraud watchdog in 2021 over an alleged breach of contract.
The allegations stemmed from an SFO criminal investigation into ENRC, opened in 2013, after the Kazakh group alleged that its own law firm, Dechert, and the lead partner Gerrard leaked confidential and privileged information to the SFO and the press about the probe.
The hefty legal battle was split into several trials, with a mammoth 11-week liability hearing in 2022. During the trial, it emerged that Gerrard was alleged to have said he was in “rape mode” in pursuit of fees from ENRC and planned to “screw those fuckers” – a claim he denied.
The trial produced a damning, ground-breaking judgment from Mr Justice Waksman, who ruled that Gerrard breached his duties and slammed SFO officials for “bad faith opportunism” and acting “recklessly” by eagerly accepting leaked documents.
A second two-week trial in 2023 found, among other issues, that fees paid to Dechert by ENRC should never have been paid because they related to unnecessary work, totalling £11.25m.
The parties went to the Court of Appeal in 2024 after ENRC sought permission to amend its pleadings to advance a claim for losses, which was granted, and brought its total claim to approximately $290m.
The Phase Two trial was listed to address the remaining quantum issues. However, on Wednesday, a spokesperson for ENRC confirmed the company, the SFO, Dechert and Gerrard “concluded the proceedings between them on terms which are confidential”. Dechert issued the same statement.
Matthew Wagstaff, director of legal services at SFO, said: “We are confident that the SFO’s wrongdoing between 2011 and 2013 could never happen again.
“The SFO is a fundamentally different organisation. We have overhauled how we operate with stronger governance, independent oversight and clearer safeguards.”
Settlement marks end of costly chapter
The US law firm Dechert suffered reputation and financial damage as a result of the lawsuit and findings against Gerrard. As of 2024, Morning Wire estimated that the legal fallout from Gerrard’s actions in the ENRC case cost Dechert nearly £44m. The firm has spent the last few years bleeding millions of pounds as it desperately tries to distance itself from its former star rainmaker.
The legal battle also hung over the SFO, as it was seen as a major dig at the agency’s reputation at a time it has been fighting for credibility. Before former director Nick Ephgrave took over, the agency did some light cleaning by closing a couple of long-running corruption investigations, including the ENRC probe, which had led to the mammoth civil action.