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Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

17/02/2020

Insurers, ransomware and Bitcoin

AA v Persons Unknown & Ors, Re Bitcoin [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm)

A proprietary injunction has been granted in a ransomware case in respect of c.US$1 million worth of Bitcoin. In this case (only recently made public) an English insurer sought the return of a payment made to hackers to recover a client’s IT systems.

Mr Justice Bryan held (for the purposes of an interim injunction) that Bitcoin could constitute property. In doing so, the Judge cited “Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts”, a legal statement by the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, which he described as “compelling” and “accurate”. The legal statement was authored by Lawrence Akka QC and Sam Goodman from Twenty Essex, alongside David Quest QC and Matthew Lavy.

The Global Data Review published an article on the case which contains comments from Lawrence Akka QC.

Relevant members
Lawrence Akka KC Sam Goodman
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