Oligarch’s son-in-law loses ‘debanking’ suit

THE son-in-law of a late Russian oligarch has lost his “debanking” lawsuit against Revolut after the High Court threw out the case.

Ildar Uzbekov, a Kazakh-born British citizen, launched a legal action against the digital lender after it closed his bank account without explanation and reversed £11,000 of payments linked to the sale of a Range Rover.

He claimed his account was unlawfully blocked for six weeks before being deactivated because of internal mistakes at Revolut and an adverse media campaign over his alleged ties to Russia.

Mr Uzbekov, the son-in-law of late Russian mining magnate Alexander Shchukin, had sought a High Court declaration that he had been unlawfully debanked.

Yesterday, the High Court struck out Mr Uzbekov’s case after finding he had “no real prospect of success”. The High Court found Mr Uzbekov’s legal costs and use of court resources would be “disproportionate” considering that he only sought nominal damages and he had recovered the funds involved.

Mr Uzbekov had already claimed £147,000 in legal costs despite the dispute being at a very early stage. In a written ruling released yesterday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said: “The game is not worth the candle.”

The debanking lawsuit was taken up in the wake of a scandal involving former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who had his bank account closed by Coutts last year over his political views.

Revolut’s lawyer, Tony Singla KC, argued in the High Court earlier this month that Mr Uzbekov’s debanking claims were a “red herring”.

He argued that Mr Uzbekov’s case was different from incidents where bank accounts have been closed over a customer’s political views.

A spokesman for Mr Uzbekov said he will appeal.