THE WAPI NEWS – “ROUNDUP”
Court of Appeal pulls plug on freezing orders after Black Cube sting
22/07/2026
by Rob Harkavy
Court condemns ‘privilege hunting’ as an abuse of process after private investigators used a fictitious client and covert recordings to extract litigation secrets from an opponent’s solicitor.
The Court of Appeal has discharged worldwide freezing orders obtained by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego after finding that a covert operation targeting his opponents’ solicitor amounted to a “very serious abuse” of the court process.
The operation had all the ingredients of an espionage thriller.
Private intelligence firm Black Cube, which employs former Israeli intelligence officers, invented a prospective client embroiled in a multimillion-dollar arbitration and dispatched an operative to cultivate the defendants’ solicitor. Crucially, the fictitious dispute was crafted to echo issues in the real litigation, allowing the operative to steer the lawyer into discussing the Salinas case.
Handing down judgment yesterday (21 July), Lord Justice Males, with whom Lord Justice Phillips and Lord Justice Foxton agreed, held that the practice, described as “privilege hunting”, was an abuse of process. The underlying fraud claim survives, but the freezing orders have been discharged.
The background
The underlying dispute concerns a 2021 deal under which Salinas and his company, Corporacion RBS, borrowed around $115 million from Astor Asset Management 3, providing Grupo Elektra shares worth approximately $415 million as security.
Salinas alleges that he was duped by people falsely presenting Astor as a legitimate financial institution connected with the famous Astor family. According to the claimants, the shares were sold and some $271 million in surplus proceeds transferred into accounts controlled by an associate of defendant Vladimir Sklarov.
In a judgment handed down in November 2025, Deputy High Court Judge Stephen Houseman KC held that the operation was abusive.
He struck out the summary judgment application but refused to strike out the underlying claim, finding that would be disproportionate.
The judge also found that X had been “deceived and played for a fool by a skilful and well-prepared interrogator armed with insider knowledge”.
Both sides appealed.
PRIVILEGE HUNTING:
The deliberate pursuit of special advantages, status, access, or preferential treatment—often by using personal connections or influence rather than merit or fair procedures.
THE PARTIES:
Salinas and another (appellants/claimants) v Astor Asset Management 3 and others (respondents/defendants)
READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
https://iclg.com/news/court-of-appeal-pulls-plug-on-freezing-orders-after-black-cube-sting/
PUBLISHED BY:
The International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG)
Posted by: Ian (D. Withers)
www.WAPI.org
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