Mohammad Jafari-Fini paid a bribe to ensure support for his takeover of Chesterton, a high court judge has said.
The former Chesterton chairman, who bought the company in 2003, claimed that the company had been unjustly wrested from his control in December 2003.
But this week deputy judge Mr Stuart Isaacs said that a June 2003 payment of £150,000 from Jafari-Fini to Jamie Constable was a bribe.
He said this amounted to a “major default” of the £12.9m loan facility from Jafari-Fini’s backer, Skillglass, a subsidiary of Resurge, and it was justified in taking control of the company.
The payment was made on the same day that Skillglass allowed Jafari-Fini to make an unconditional takeover offer for Chesterton.
The judge accepted that neither Skillglass nor Resurge were aware of the payment.
Jafari-Fini claimed the payment was an interest-free loan for a private motor-racing venture, paid to Constable.
But deputy judge Isaacs said that Jafari-Fini’s “attempt to dissociate the payment” from the takeover “was wholly artificial”.
Deputy judge Isaacs said he was “sceptical” that Jonathan Rowland, also joint managing director of Resurge, was unaware of the bribe, but made no final ruling on the matter.
Jafari-Fini has been battling to regain control of Phoenix Acquisitions, the takeover vehicle he used to buy Chesterton in 2003, for almost two years.
Initially, he was also trying to regain an 86.9% stake in the agent, which was placed into administration in March 2005.
He had claimed that he had been ousted as chairman of Chesterton in a “coup d’état”, led by Guernsey financier David Rowland, father of Jonathan, but deputy judge Isaacs said that this belief was “misplaced”.
Lawyers for Resurge, now called Adeste Investments, and Skillglass declined to comment.
The issue of costs is still to be decided, but Skillglass’s lawyers said they wanted Jafari-Fini to pay costs, which they estimated at around £1.7m.
Jafari-Fini, who represented himself, vowed to appeal.
References: EGi News 23/01/06
