Alliance Petrochemical Investment (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Francesco Mazzagatti & Anor

Alliance Petrochemical Investment (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Francesco Mazzagatti & Anor

The defendants' foreign illegality defence is unarguable because it fails to plead that the alleged illegal acts occurred in the United States or that US law is the governing law; English law requires a territorial nexus for a foreign illegality defence, which is not satisfied on the pleadings.

Parties
Claimant: Alliance Petrochemical Investment (Singapore) Pte Ltd; Defendant: Francesco Mazzagatti; Defendant: Francesco Dixit Dominus
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
12 May 2025
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Civil Claim / Application to Strike Out Parts of Defence
Outcome
Application granted in part; paragraphs of the defence struck out
Legal Topics
Illegality Defence, Foreign Law Sanctions, Strike Out Applications, Public Policy, Breach of Trust, Dishonest Assistance
Commercial Law Conflict of Laws Trusts and Fiduciary Law Illegality Defence Foreign Law Sanctions Strike Out Applications Public Policy Breach of Trust +1 more

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Parties

Alliance Petrochemical Investment (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Claimant

Francesco Mazzagatti

Defendant

Francesco Dixit Dominus

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Civil Claim / Application to Strike Out Parts of Defence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendants' foreign illegality defence based on US sanctions law is arguable under English law
  2. 2 Whether the defence should be struck out for lack of territorial nexus
  3. 3 Whether English public policy precludes reliance on US extraterritorial sanctions

Ratio Decidendi

The defendants' foreign illegality defence is unarguable because it fails to plead that the alleged illegal acts occurred in the United States or that US law is the governing law; English law requires a territorial nexus for a foreign illegality defence, which is not satisfied on the pleadings.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; paragraphs of the defence struck out

Orders

  • Strike out of sentences or parts of sentences from paragraphs 4 and 62, and the whole of paragraphs 114 to 117 of the defence