US executive gets UK judgments thrown out after showing hackers swayed his case

(Reuters) – An American aviation executive, Farhad Azima, saw British judgments totaling over $4 million thrown out after a judge determined that his legal opponent, a United Arab Emirates investment fund called RAKIA, had used hackers to steal Azima’s emails in order to win the case. High Court Justice Michael Green labeled the 2016 lawsuit against Azima as an “egregious case” with “somewhat extraordinary consequences” and concluded that judgments were obtained through fraud. In response, Azima was awarded around 8 million pounds ($10 million) in costs and damages.

RAKIA, which withdrew from the case in 2022 and was absent from court proceedings, did not respond to requests for comment. Azima expressed his satisfaction with the court’s decision in a statement.

This ruling marked a significant turning point for Azima, who had previously been found guilty of cheating RAKIA in a British court ruling from 2020. The judgment heavily relied on Azima’s hacked private emails, which were anonymously leaked online. Initially denying involvement in the theft, RAKIA later used the emails as evidence that Azima had engaged in “seriously fraudulent conduct” regarding aviation and tourism business deals.

During the preparation of the 2020 judgment, Reuters was investigating Indian hackers who specialized in stealing emails to influence court cases in favor of their clients. Azima was among the individuals notified by Reuters about being targeted, leading him to investigate further and connect the hackers to RAKIA’s former law firm, Dechert.

With this new information, Azima was granted permission to file a counterclaim against RAKIA. Subsequently, RAKIA exited the case, stating that while it did not condone the hacking of Azima, it may have fallen victim to undisclosed “dishonest and unscrupulous third party advisers.”

Dechert announced via a statement that they had settled with Azima in regards to the British case the previous month, emphasizing that the settlement was made “without any admission of liability.”

While separate hacking-related lawsuits brought by Azima against Dechert in New York and a former private investigator from the law firm in North Carolina are still ongoing.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter)