''Brinks Ltd v Abu-Saleh (No 3)''
996
Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...
CLC 133 is an
English trusts law
English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trusts were a creation of the English law of property and obligations, and share a subsequent history with countries across the ...
case, concerning breach of trust and liability for
dishonest assistance Dishonest assistance, or knowing assistance, is a type of third party liability under English trust law. It is usually seen as one of two liabilities established in ''Barnes v Addy,'' the other one being knowing receipt. To be liable for dishonest a ...
. It established an apparently high threshold for liability for dishonest assistance.
Facts
Mrs Elcombe’s husband, Mr Elcombe, laundered the proceeds of a
gold bullion
A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produced ...
theft, by driving to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
with cash hidden in the car, sometimes with her there with him. She thought her husband was probably avoiding taxes but did not realize that she was assisting in a breach of trust. Brinks Ltd argued that she had dishonestly assisted in the breach of trust.
Judgment
Rimer J held that Mrs Elcombe had not assisted her husband, because her accompaniment was merely ‘in the capacity’ as his wife rather than providing cover for money laundering. She may have made it a more pleasant experience but it was not ‘assistance of a nature sufficient to make her an accessory to the breach of trust.’ It was not enough to be dishonest about one thing if that was not the thing being done.
Significance
Lord Hoffmann
Leonard Hubert "Lennie" Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann (born 8 May 1934) is a retired senior South African–British judge. He served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1995 to 2009.
Well known for his lively decisions and willingness to break w ...
cast some doubt on the decision ''
Barlow Clowes Ltd v Eurotrust Ltd''
005
''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...
UKPC 37 by saying that one cannot be dishonest about a thing which one thinks one is not doing.
See also
*
English trusts law
English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trusts were a creation of the English law of property and obligations, and share a subsequent history with countries across the ...
Notes
{{reflist, 2
References
*
English trusts case law
High Court of Justice cases
1996 in United Kingdom case law