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UK: Star Reefers start contempt proceedings against JFC

On Wednesday 7 March 2012, ship operator STAR Reefers commenced contempt proceedings in the High Court in London against bankrupt Russian fruit importer JFC and its directors/officers, Vladimir Kekhman, Andrey Afanasyev, Dmitri Kasatkin, Vitaly Podolsky, Yulia Zakharova, Tatiana Litvinova and Oleg Dobronravov for breach of the High Court’s world wide freezing order.

STAR Reefers' Chief Executive Officer Simon Stevens stated -

"STAR Reefers will continue to pursue its claims robustly against Mr Kekhman and his JFC Group of companies based in Russia and world wide.

STAR believes that Mr Kekhman and the Directors of JFC have breached the conditions set out in the English High Court's world wide freezing order granted in December 2011, placing them in contempt of court and liable for court sanctions."

In August 2011 the High Court in London awarded reefer ship owner STAR Reefers USD16.5m, plus legal costs and interest, against charterparty guarantor JFC, following the unlawful early redelivery of three ships and wrongful termination of the charters by JFC's chartering arm Kalistad Ltd of Cyprus. JFC did not appeal the judgement. JFC failed to pay the judgement sum. On 6 September 2011, the judgment debt against JFC was registered with the UK Government's Registry Trust
 
As a result of JFC's failure to pay the judgement debt and breach of other court orders, on 10 November 2011 the High Court ordered JFC to disclose details of all of their worldwide assets with a value exceeding USD25,000 and any transactions between JFC and its associated companies.

Because of JFC's failure to comply with court orders and due to evidence that assets may have been transferred between offshore companies to frustrate creditors, on 16 December 2011 His Honour Judge Mackie QC issued a worldwide freezing order in the sum of USD21m against JFC's assets.

If the company and its directors are found to be in contempt of court, they may face unlimited fines and sequestration of their property and also the imprisonment of the company directors/officers.