Tchenguiz drops legal case after bank deal

PROPERTY magnate Robert Tchenguiz abandoned his case against Grant Thornton hours before he was due to give evidence in court.

The 58-year-old had claimed the accountancy firm fed dishonest allegations about him to the Serious Fraud Office, triggering an investigation.

Tchenguiz and his brother Vincent were arrested by the SFO in 2011 as part of a three-year probe into their alleged involvement in the collapse of Iceland bank Kaupthing during the financial crisis.

The SFO later dropped the case and the brothers sued the organisation for more than £200m. The SFO settled in 2014, agreeing to pay £3m and £1.5m to Vincent and Robert respectively.

In a case that started last week, Tchenguiz wanted damages amid claims Grant Thornton, two of its partners and a lawyer acting for Kaupthing conspired to get the SFO to investigate him and his brother.

But he dropped the case yesterday after reaching an agreement with Kaupthing, which was not a defendant but is understood to have faced paying some of the defendants’ losses if Tchenguiz won.