A Cayman Islands Grand Court judge has ordered the freezing of up to US$45 million in assets, including a luxury yacht, of a UK lawyer, from whom a Saudi princess has been trying to recoup millions in investment funds since 2013.
The ruling prevents Ronald William Gibbs, a former partner in global law firm Linklaters, from selling a multi-million-dollar superyacht he owns, called the Elysium.
A UK court last month ordered Gibbs to pay damages of almost US$40 million to Princess Deema Bint Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, of the Saudi Arabian royal family, who had entrusted him with her funds.
Sale of yacht frozen
Gibbs is the sole shareholder in the company that owns the 131-foot-long yacht – Elysium Yacht Limited – which is registered in the Cayman Islands. As of Tuesday, 12 March, the yacht appeared listed for sale on yacht brokerage websites.
Gibbs is listed as the only director of the company on the Cayman Islands General Registry.
The local registration of the company that owns the yacht is why the matter has come before a Cayman Islands court. Gibbs is not a resident of Cayman.
Grand Court Justice David Doyle, in his summary of “the story so far”, as he put it in his 7 March ruling, noted that in 2011, US$25 million had been forwarded to Gibbs on behalf of the princess. Gibbs was given power of attorney over the funds.
The money had been gifted to the princess by her father before his death, and she had intended it to be used to purchase a property in Europe and, subsequently, for other investments after she changed her mind about buying the property.
According to UK court reports, the princess began requesting the return of her funds in 2013.
“Mr. Gibbs did not return the funds despite repeated requests,” Doyle noted in his judgment. “A settlement agreement was entered into in April 2018 but it appears Mr. Gibbs did not honour that either.”
In January 2021, Al Saud commenced proceedings through the English court system, and a worldwide freezing order was granted against Gibbs the following month.
Subsequent proceedings in relation to the case were heard, as Gibbs had failed to abide by the freezing order.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Neil Calver of the High Court in London on 21 Feb. this year, he described Gibbs’ actions in failing to return the money as “reprehensible”, and ordered him to pay the princess damages of US$39,690,732.
Calver stated that, in order to avoid disclosing what he had done with the money, Gibbs had chosen to “breach numerous court orders over a three-year period”.
Yacht seized in Spain
Justice Doyle noted that during the English proceedings, Gibbs had disclosed that he was the 100% shareholder of Elysium Yacht Limited, which was registered in Cayman in March 2018.
He said the Elysium yacht is being held by authorities in Spain, as a secured creditor, Close Brothers Limited, has been granted an English High Court judgment against Elysium Yacht Limited for nearly US$6.5 million. The French tax authority also has an alleged claim against the yacht owner for almost US$3.3 million.
With those sums deducted, the net value of the yacht is estimated to be approximately US$3.9 million, Doyle said.
“I am satisfied that the Applicant has a good arguable case that there is a real risk that the English Order will go unsatisfied by reason of the disposal of assets unless an asset freezing order is made and receivers appointed, and it is just and convenient in all circumstances to grant an asset freezing order and to appoint receivers,” Doyle stated in his ruling.
He added that “evidence of Gibbs’ past conduct indicates that he may well breach the freezing order or otherwise take steps to ensure that his assets will not be available to satisfy judgments and orders against him”.
Gibbs told the UK court in January that he was currently “living on a boat with a little laptop and a 50 Euro HP printer”. He had earlier said he was living on “cash handouts” as a boat captain in Montenegro.
Doyle said that within 10 days of his 7 March ruling, specific information relating to the order would be provided, including the appointment of receivers over Elysium Yacht Limited.
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