Overview
Amit’s practice spans commercial litigation/arbitration, insolvency and company work. He has particular expertise in civil fraud, technology disputes and group actions.
Amit has a largely international client base, who come to him for his insight and strategical approach to litigation. While often led, Amit thrives un-led at trials, enjoying the grittier end of litigation. That is borne out of his previous experience undertaking white-collar criminal trials.
Amit’s personal and family background in international trade, investments and commercial property is reflected in his more commercial approach to clients and disputes.
Prior to coming to the Bar Amit worked at the Financial Conduct Authority, HM Revenue and Customs, Slaughter and May LLP and undertook government policy work in Nepal.
Details of instructions, including legal and press reports can be provided upon request.
Civil Fraud
Amit is regularly instructed in domestic and international civil/commercial fraud cases. It represents the largest area of Amit’s practice. He is sought out for his lateral thinking and strategic approach to such disputes. His past experience undertaking white-collar criminal work being a perfect bedrock for his practice.
Recent representative instructions are:
- Pursuing enforcement against the organisers of large scale boiler-room fraud across multiple jurisdictions.
- Defending an arbitrator and Swiss lawyer in respect of a claim seeking a declaration that a Swiss ad-hoc arbitration was a sham.
- Successfully defending committal application after 3 day trial for breaches of a freezing injunction.
- Advising on civil and criminal bribery and negotiating a multi-jurisdictional settlement agreement.
- Obtaining permission and pursuing contempt proceedings against a director arising out of falsehoods in various documents signed with a statement of truth and otherwise interfere in the interest of justice.
- Acting for Iranian oil-sanctions breacher in respect of contempt proceedings.
- Successful 5 day trial in the Central Family Court, concerning a Nigerian Pastor and asserting a trust was a sham.
- Obtaining a passport order (Bayer AG v Winter order) in support of contempt and post judgment enforcement against a foot-loose Middle-Eastern business man.
- Representing a South-African dentist for contempt proceedings, include his detention after fleeing the UK.
- Obtaining judgment after trial against a Mayfair based asset manager and its former directors for drawing up forged cheques in the Claimant’s name in the amount of £1m, including claims against the payee and collecting banks for breach of their mandate and conversion.
- Obtaining a freezing order on behalf a Monaco based family against Bulgarian fraudsters.
- Defending a deceit claim by an acquiring company against the CEO of crypto asset manager in respect of forged board minutes.
- Led on TCC claim for c.£8m against a cable supplier for fraudulently provided sub-standard cabling that was used at numerous sites of a major supermarket chain.
- Defending a c.£4m claim for theft and undue influence by the estate of a former intimate-partner.
- Obtaining an interim proprietary injunction and thereafter judgment including declaratory relief and indemnity costs against an Abu Dhabi based Defendant in respect of a £1.5m investment fraud.
- Advising and defending a freezing injunction and extensive disclosure application by a former employer against his accountant in the Commercial Court.
- Proprietary and moneys claims against a London based family office and its former director for deriving a secret profit from a property deal when acting as the Claimant’s London agent.
Commercial Litigation
Amit is regularly instructed on a wide variety of domestic and international commercial disputes, in both the High Court and with the various international arbitration bodies. Those disputes often concern the technology and financial services sectors. Amit has particular experience working with and advising litigation funders and on group actions.
Recent representative instructions are:
- Bringing a claim for the failure to deliver defensive military systems on behalf of a Egyptian former colonel.
- LCIA Arbitration in respect of the implementation of energy infrastructure in Central Asia.
- Acting for the principal of Dubai based VC fund in respect of investments made via a Luxemburg based investment vehicle into a Gibraltar company that provided digital asset exchange platforms and services.
- Bringing a claim against a UK company for breach of consortium agreement to supply arms funding by the MoD to Ukraine.
- Led on defending a claim by a Cypriot company against a Libyan individual, Jersey trust and BVI company in respect of a £10m loan/investment.
- Acting for a pool of professional service providers employed to assist in a £1bn group action, to recover their unpaid fees.
- TCC claim defending a website developer against a claim for losses arising out of a purportedly defective back-end system.
- Representing an introducer in a multiparty claim concerning a failed Bulgarian solar panel farm.
- ICC arbitration concerning the supply of oil extraction equipment from the US to West Africa.
- Representing a Russian PEP in respect of claim for c.£2m against an Italian marble supplier.
- Representing a Channel Island utility provider in respect of a claim by their IT managed service provider.
- Advising and acting for a US virtual reality systems developer against a UK hardware manufacturer in respect of defects in supplied hardware.
- Defending a c.£700k claim against a bridging loan provider and broker.
- Led on a complex group litigation against former solicitors and others for fees of c.£20m.
- Defending an IFA in a Commercial Court claim concerning regulatory breaches.
- Led on a claim by an inter-dealer broker against an IT provider for defective bespoke communication and database systems created.
- Advising on the enforceability of an assignment of a book of factored commercial debts.
- Led on a group litigation (c.200 claimants) against a major financial institution concerning the legality and enforceability of lending agreements to fund Spanish timeshare contracts
Insolvency
Amit has a wide breath of experience in corporate and personal insolvency. He is instructed equally by insolvency practitioners as individuals/companies.
Recent representative instructions are:
- Advising and representing a liquidator in respect of a multiparty £3m preference claim against a Panamanian discretionary trust, a publicly traded City of London merchant bank and others.
- Successfully representing a liquidator in criminal restraint and confiscation proceedings concerning trading business asserted by the prosecutor to be criminal proceeds of a VAT fraud.
- Representing a major energy drinks brand against a c.£5m winding up petition and bringing counterclaims for unlawful means conspiracy against the Petitioner and supporting creditors.
- Defending multiple directors and recipients in respect of a £2.5m liquidators claim for misfeasance, transactions at an undervalue and preferences.
- Representing a Monaco based former CEO in respect of a misfeasance and directors loan account for c.£2m by a former LSE listed international mining company.
- Advising a fashion company in deadlock and thereafter winding it up on just and equitable grounds.
- Representing and advising the liquidators in respect of bringing a c.£700,000 claim for subscription monies against a BVI investor.
- Representing a director in a misfeasance and preference claims in respect of a tax scheme he entered into.
- Advising a Central London american sweets retailer on potential claims by liquidators and other creditors concerning group a reorganisation that sought to protect assets from potential creditors.
- Advising the directors of a subsidiary and former directors of parent company in liquidation, which were the operating companies for collective investments in real estate in Romania.
- Advising on challenging a fixed charge receiver’s decision to sell a c.£20m development property portfolio.
Company & Partnership
Amit has considerable experience in company, shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes. This area plays to his strengths given the interplay of business, law and strategy. He is instructed in both contentious and non-contentious matters. The non-contentious work focuses on advisory work and drafting for corporate lawyers on financial regulatory and financial services matters. Amit also provides advise on taxation.
Recent representative instructions are:
- Led on a dispute over the beneficial owner of shares that would give 1 side of warring factions beneficial ownership of restaurant business. There have been hearings for an interim injunction and a 3 days trial in the Manchester Business and Property Courts.
- Advising on a double derivative claim (company and trust) in respect of a £50m family property portfolio.
- Advising on the tax implications (specifically CGT and SDLT) of the restructuring of £30m residential and commercial property portfolio, including advice on negotiations with HMRC in respect of the valuation of various atypical property assets at 1982 (for the purposes of CGT rebasing).
- Unfair prejudice petition in respect of a deadlocked family retail company.
- Advising a solicitor in respect of a multiparty dispute (inc. administrators) and in respect of disbursements and WIP owed from the sale/transfer of a portfolio of solicitor files.
- Advising on shareholder dispute concerning a company that owns and manages around £15m of property and development land in London.
- Advising an ATE provider and general insurance manager on shareholder/JV dispute concerning a litigation funding business.
- Advising corporate solicitors on breach of the Take Over Code concerning the acquisition of a toy company by a fund.
- Acting as part of a counsel team as interveners in a Supreme Court appeal on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Business Banking – the appeal related to an extension of the rule against reflective loss (Sevilleja v Marex [2020] UKSC 31).
- Negotiating a £50m share purchase agreement on behalf of the Vendor.
- Advising M&A insurers on the lawfulness of tax efficient restructuring of a group of companies.
- Advising on the CGT and SDLT consequences of the separation of a c.£5m residential property holding company.
- Advising the board of a national electrical services supplier on the removal of directors and “bad leaver provisions”.
Qualifications / Education
- BSc in Psychology and Criminology (2:1)
- Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction)
- Bar Professional Training Course (Outstanding)
Awards
- Gray’s Inn Internship Scholarship (2014)
Memberships
- Commercial Bar Association
- Chancery Bar Association
Languages
- Gujarati (conversational)