Sipiem Court Update
Quantum Blockchain Technologies plc has provided an update on the Sipiem litigation, confirming that its subsidiary, Clear Leisure 2017 Limited, was awarded over €6 million in damages plus interest and inflation compensation by the Venice Court of Appeal, along with approximately €80,000 in legal costs to be recovered from an insurance company. While a settlement of €1.1 million for €700,000 with some defendants was not approved on appeal, CL2017 is pursuing the outstanding €500,000 plus interest and inflation loss, having initiated enforcement actions including the confiscation of two real estate assets valued over €600,000 and approximately 20 art pieces. Despite an appeal by defendants to Italy's highest court, CL2017 retains the legal authority to recover the full judgment amount less received settlement funds and confiscated bank assets.
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Quantum Blockchain Technologies plc (AIM: QBT), the AIM-listed investment company, provides below an update on the Sipiem litigation, through which the Company was awarded damages in excess of €6 million (plus interest and further compensation for inflation loss over time) pursuant to a judgment issued by the Venice Court of Appeal on 10 June 2024.
The same Appeal Court ruling further awarded the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Clear Leisure 2017 Limited (“CL2017”), legal costs of approximately €80,000 which are to be paid by the insurance company which had provided certain of the defendants with professional indemnity insurance. CL2017 is now seeking recovery of these funds from the insurance company.
As announced on 16 May 2024, CL2017 had reached an agreement with some of the Sipiem defendants who were liable for a portion of the judgment, approximately €1.1million, to settle for
€700,000. However, that settlement was subject to appeals court approval which was not received for technical legal reasons. Accordingly, CL2017 is now seeking to recover the outstanding €500,000 (being the difference between the settlement and judgment amounts above plus interest and further compensation for inflation loss over time) from these defendants. Towards this,
enforcement action has been started in respect of properties owned by these defendants.
The defendants appealed in January 2025 to Italy’s highest court in Rome against the Court of Appeal’s judgment. Despite this appeal, while it remains pending, CL2017 continues to have full legal authority to recover the entire €6 million plus interest and further compensation for inflation loss over time , less the €700,000 in settlement funds received from certain of the defendants (as announced on 16 May 2024 and as described above) and several tens of thousands of funds confiscated from the bank accounts of certain defendants.
Further to these recovery efforts, CL2017 has recently confiscated two real property assets valued by a surveyor in excess of €600,000. A third real property asset has been identified by CL2017 and a confiscation request has been duly filed.
Similarly, further enforcement actions have been, and will be, started against
properties belonging to the defendant
s
who have already paid the above-mentioned €700,000
. The two real properties mentioned above are set for auction on a date to be ordered shortly by a judge in Biella (the province where the properties are located).
In addition to the real property seizures, chattel assets owned by certain defendants have been confiscated, including approximately 20 items of artwork. CL2017 will obtain a valuation from an art expert as soon as practical.
The liquidation of these chattel assets will be carried out in accordance with Italian civil law procedure.
Francesco Gardin, CEO and Executive Chairman of QBT, commented
, “The determination to collect the awarded damages is steadfast and will continue by CL2017 undeterred.
These efforts will continue until such time as the judgment is fully and finally satisfied or until CL2017 is confident that no more funds and assets are in the possession of any of the Sipiem defendants. All recovery action legally possible under Italian Civil Law has been, is and will be pursued by CL2017 for as long as it takes.”
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.