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IMF, Njord Law Firm and Quinn Emanuel propose shareholder action against Danske Bank over one of the world’s largest money-laundering scandals

IMF, Njord Law Firm and Quinn Emanuel propose shareholder action against Danske Bank over one of the world’s largest money-laundering scandals

(LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 22 January 2019): IMF Litigation Funding Services Limited (IMF LFS), a wholly owned subsidiary of IMF Bentham Limited (ASX:IMF) (IMF), one of the world’s largest and most respected litigation funders, announced today a proposed shareholder action for shareholders of Danske Bank A/S (CPSE:DANSKE) (Danske Bank), to be led by specialist Danish law firm NJORD Law Firm and leading global litigation law firm Quinn Emanuel. The action will seek compensation for shareholders who lost millions of euros in value as a result of perceived errors and omissions committed by Danske Bank’s management and Danske Bank’s failure to disclose to the market the circumstances and magnitude of alleged unlawful activities within its Estonian branch. Background Danske Bank is the largest financial institution in Denmark and has a presence in sixteen countries. In 2007 Danske Bank acquired an Estonian branch as part of its acquisition of Finnish-based Sampo Bank. The Estonian branch held a non-resident portfolio comprising customers from the Russian Federation and the larger Commonwealth of Independent States, including countries such as Azerbaijan and Ukraine. In 2007 Danske Bank’s management were advised by the Russian Central Bank, via the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, of concerns regarding the non-resident customers of the Estonian branch, including possible tax and custom payments evasion and criminal activity including money laundering. Despite many warnings, including a report from a whistle-blower employed in the Estonian branch in early 2014, and audit letters from Group Internal Audit, Danske Bank’s anti-money laundering procedures at the Estonian branch failed to respond and were manifestly inadequate. It was not until 19 September 2018 that Danske Bank provided sufficient information to inform the market of the true scale of the problems within Danske Bank. Over the course of 2018, Danske Bank’s shareholders experienced a substantial fall in their share value, Shares trading on 2 January 2018 at the equivalent of €25.62 fell to the equivalent of €18.70, following the disclosure on 19 September 2018, (a fall of €6.92 or 27%). IMF LFS’ Investment Manager Alistair Croft said: “EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova has referred to the money laundering uncovered within the Bank as ‘the biggest scandal we have now in Europe.’ The failure to disclose approximately €200bn of suspicious money flowing through its Estonia branch has caused serious harm to Danske’s financial position and its reputation. Reports make clear that Danske Bank continued to downplay the problems publicly and gave the impression they were largely historical matters that were substantially resolved. Although Danske Bank engaged in dialogue over many years with regulators in Estonia and Denmark, management disclosed no inkling of any serious issues to their shareholders.” Christian Benedictsen-Nislev, lead partner at NJORD Law Firm, stated: “In our assessment, Danske Bank failed to provide adequate and timely information to the market of the nature and extent of the problems in the Bank, resulting in inflated share prices. NJORD Law Firm is committed to assist shareholders in seeking compensation for losses suffered as a result hereof.” What should Danske Bank shareholders do? The shareholder action is open to investors who suffered loss after acquiring shares in Danske Bank between 29 April 2014 and 19 September 2018 (inclusive). NJORD Law Firm, Quinn Emanuel and IMF encourage all shareholders who acquired shares in Danske Bank during this period to register their interest as soon as possible via IMF’s confidential, dedicated website page (https://www.imf.com.au/danske) or by contacting IMF LFS in London or the lawyers directly. IMF LFS, together with both law firms, will host a group telephone conference call on 31 January 2019 to explain to shareholders how the claim will be run. To register for this call, please email danske@imf.com.au and access details will be posted on IMF’s webpage (https://www.imf.com.au/danske) nearer the time. ABOUT IMF IMF is one of the leading global litigation funders, headquartered in Australia and with offices in the US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and London. IMF has built its reputation as a trusted provider of innovative litigation funding solutions and has established an increasingly diverse portfolio of litigation funding assets. IMF has a highly experienced litigation funding team overseeing its investments. We have a 90% success rate over 179 completed investments and have recovered over AU$1.4 billion for clients since 2001. As at 30 September 2018, there are 74 live investments with an aggregate estimated portfolio for all investments globally of approximately AU$5.8 billion. IMF LFS is a wholly owned subsidiary of IMF and provides dispute finance, investment capital and strategic services for disputes in the EMEA region, which includes the UK, mainland Europe, Middle East and Africa. For further information regarding IMF and its activities, please visit www.imf.com.au ABOUT NJORD LAW NJORD Law Firm is a full-service law firm serving local and international clients through the firm’s offices across the Nordic countries, including Denmark and Estonia. NJORD Law Firm’s litigation department is one of the largest and most experienced among the Top 10 Danish law firms. The firm’s many expert litigators include lawyers specializing in capital markets and securities litigation, and the litigation department has substantial experience with complex, multi-party litigation. For further information about NJORD Law Firm, please visit www.njordlaw.com ABOUT QUINN EMANUEL One of Quinn Emanuel’s largest practice areas is securities litigation. For decades, the firm has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in many of the highest-profile securities cases in the United States. More recently, their global presence has allowed them to advise and represent clients in a broad range of complex securities disputes in major financial markets overseas, including Australia, the U.K., Europe, and Asia. Many of their representations have involved dozens of related shareholder-derivative and class action claims. Over the past eight years, they have achieved verdicts and settlements totalling over $47 billion for their clients in the wave of litigation that arose in the aftermath of the U.S. financial crisis. For further information about Quinn Emanuel, please visit www.quinnemanuel.com
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Harris Pogust Joins Bryant Park Capital as Senior Advisor

By John Freund |

Bryant Park Capital (“BPC”) a leading middle market investment bank and market leader in the litigation finance sector, is pleased to announce that Harris Pogust has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor.  Harris (Mr. Pogust) is one of the best known and prominent attorneys in the mass tort and class action fields, he was the founding partner and Chairman of Pogust Goodhead worldwide until early 2024 and is currently working with Trial Lawyers for a Better Tomorrow, a charity Harris founded, to help children reach their educational potential all over the world.  Harris’ life work has been to deliver justice for those who have been damaged or injured through the negligence or bad faith of others.

“We are thrilled to have Harris as part of our team.  His knowledge, experience and relationships in the litigation finance sector are of great value to Bryant Park and our clients.  As the litigation finance world becomes more competitive, complex and challenging, having an expert like Harris on our team is invaluable,” said Joel Magerman, Managing Partner of Bryant Park.

Harris’ efforts, in conjunction with Bryant Park will focus on assisting law firms and funders in developing strategies to more efficiently fund their operations and cases and assist them in establishing the right relationships for future growth.  Harris commented, “I have been fortunate to have been a practicing attorney and partner in law firms for over 35 years focused on building and growing a worldwide book of business in the class action/mass tort field.  That required significant capital and throughout my career I have raised over $1 billion for my firms.  I have learned what works and what doesn’t.  I have seen both the risks and rewards in this industry.  I look forward to being able to work with law firms and funders to assist them in putting the right strategies in place with Bryant Park and bringing capital and liquidity to help them grow and flourish.”

About Bryant Park Capital

Bryant Park Capital is an investment bank providing capital raising, M&A and corporate finance advisory services to emerging growth and middle market public and private companies. BPC has deep expertise and a diversified, well-founded breadth of experience in a number of sectors, including specialty finance & financial services. BPC has raised various forms of credit, growth equity, and assisted in mergers and acquisitions for its clients. Our professionals have completed more than 400 assignments representing an aggregate transaction value of over $30 billion.

For more information about Bryant Park Capital, please visit www.bryantparkcapital.com.

Therium Capital Advisors Launched to Provide Litigation Finance Advisory Services

By John Freund |

Therium Capital Advisors (TCA) announced today the launch of its independent advisory services business dedicated to helping claimants, law firms and corporates to source, structure and secure litigation finance. TCA offers end-to-end support including funding strategy, investor engagement, financial modelling, deal structuring, ongoing case management and secondary market advisory. Based in London, the firm is advising on deals in the UK, continental Europe and Australia.

Therium Capital Advisors is led by litigation funding pioneer Neil Purslow and co-founded by investment banker Harry Stockdale. Neil has over 16 years of experience in litigation finance, raising capital and investing worldwide across all forms of litigation finance from single cases funding through to portfolio, corporate and law firm funding arrangements. Harry was previously head of UK M&A at investment bank Haitong with twenty years of experience in investment banking, advising law firms and litigation funders on complex financial transactions.  

TCA is the first advisory firm to provide clients with advisory services that are backed by a deep understanding of litigation finance investing coupled with the financial and transactional expertise of investment banking. Therium Capital Advisors bridges the gap between claimants, law firms and corporates on the one side and existing and new sources of institutional capital on the other.  Through the combined expertise of its founders, TCA opens up the investor universe that is available to clients and drives quality in the investment propositions, efficiency in the funding process and competition in the funding market.

TCA exclusively advises claimants, law firms and corporates, ensuring that it remains conflict-free.  The firm advises across the full range of legal assets including single case and portfolio funding, law firm financing, financing options for corporates and existing portfolios of legal assets.   

Neil Purslow, co-founder and Managing Partner of Therium Capital Advisors said: “We are at a pivotal moment in the development of the legal finance industry, given the relative paucity of traditional funding capital available.  However, we are seeing a shift towards new categories of investors in legal assets who want exposure to this uncorrelated asset class. By leveraging our unrivalled experience across both litigation funding and investment banking, we are assisting our clients to navigate this landscape with confidence, speed and understanding, and we provide them with access to a broader set of funding options and to meet their funding needs efficiently and cost effectively.”

Harry Stockdale, co-founder and Partner of Therium Capital Advisors said: “We are bringing an investment banking mind set to the litigation funding world which has developed largely without the benefit of specialist advisors. This professionalisation of the funding process will make the sector more efficient and accessible to a wider audience of investors in addition to the traditional litigation funders. We are already seeing the benefit of this, for both clients and investors alike, and is part of the maturing of litigation finance as an asset class.”

Therium Capital Advisors provides the following services to claimants, law firms and corporates:

  • Deal Preparation: Preparing funding propositions to be investment-ready.
  • Capital Sourcing: Identifying and engaging with suitable funders and capital providers from across the spectrum of legal assets investors.
  • Financial Modelling and Analysis: Providing robust financial modelling and scenario analysis to evaluate deal structures and model returns.
  • Investor Materials and Outreach: Advising on the preparation of investor-facing materials and documentation, inserting rigour and discipline to ensure efficiency in the funding process.
  • Co-Funding: Advising on the identification and engagement of potential co-investors to optimise risk-sharing and capital raising.
  • Negotiating Funding Terms: Leading negotiations with investors to secure terms which balance commercial viability with the interests of the funded party.
  • Deal Structuring and Documentation: Advising on deal structures and overseeing the drafting and execution of all relevant documentation.
  • Post-Funding Case Management: Providing ongoing monitoring, reporting, and servicing support post-funding on behalf of the claimant, to manage risks and support positive case outcomes.
  • Secondary Market Advisory: Advising on secondary transactions of existing legal assets including sub-funding arrangements and exits.

More information can be found at: www.therium.com/theriumcapitaladvisors

Gryphon Law Launches as Contingency-Fee Firm for International Disputes

By John Freund |

A new player is entering the international disputes arena—this time with a distinct twist on legal funding. Gryphon Law has officially launched as the first law firm globally to specialize in contingency-fee representation for cross-border disputes.

Gryphon Law aims to offer an alternative to third-party litigation funding by shouldering the cost of legal claims in return for a share of the outcome. Based in New York and with plans to expand into London and Miami, the firm targets clients who might otherwise turn to traditional funders, offering instead to partner with them directly through performance-based fee structures.

The firm was founded by John Templeman, a seasoned international disputes attorney qualified in New York, England & Wales, and Australia, who previously held roles at leading global law firms. Templeman has assembled a multilingual team capable of handling the full lifecycle of international litigation and arbitration in English, Spanish, and French—from initiation to enforcement. Co-founding the venture is Daura Dutour, an 18-year disputes veteran with experience in the U.S., France, and Haiti, supported by three additional associates.

Templeman stated: "I believe there's a real opportunity in the market to provide clients with an appealing alternative to third party funding, particularly in the sub-US$30 million value range below where many of the funders operate. I've been fortunate to assemble a world-class team of disputes lawyers who share this vision – we're looking forward to contributing to this rapidly evolving field.”

Gryphon Law’s business model suggests a more vertically integrated approach to litigation finance—embedding the funder role within the law firm itself. For clients, this could mean greater alignment of interests, fewer intermediaries, and possibly reduced costs when compared to traditional third-party funding arrangements.