La Jornada: English court accuses Salinas Pliego of using secret recording

A United Kingdom appeals court determined that the hiring of an intelligence company by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the main shareholder of Elektra and TvAzteca, to secretly record a lawyer representing a lender to the Mexican businessman constituted “an abuse” of procedure, Bloomberg reported.

Salinas Pliego accuses Ukrainian businessman Vladimir Sklarov of fraud of up to $450 million. The origin of the conflict is a loan obtained by the Mexican group, guaranteed with Grupo Elektra shares, which would have been sold irregularly by Sklarov, according to the Mexican side.

Sklarov was arrested in Chicago earlier this year on charges of fraud and remains in prison in the United States.

Businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s use of an intelligence firm to secretly record a lawyer during a boozy dinner constituted an abuse of process, a U.K. appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Despite the ruling on the evidence, Salinas Pliego’s lawsuit against Sklarov in the United Kingdom may continue until trial, according to Bloomberg.

The secret recording, made by Black Cube agents of a lawyer, was an “affront to justice” and “a form of corruption”, which could even constitute criminal offences, the British judges said, although the court expressly refrained from ruling on these issues, they added.

“The conduct of the plaintiffs in attempting to obtain privileged information by deceiving the defendants’ attorney, information that they then used to obtain an advantage in this process, constituted an abuse of judicial process,” indicates the ruling issued by the court headed by Judge Stephen Houseman.

Luciano Pascoe, Salinas Pliego’s chief spokesman, quoted by Bloomberg, stated that the evidence presented before the British court was obtained in full compliance with the law. Meanwhile, a Black Cube representative stated that his evidence was obtained legally and that the court did not contradict him. Sklarov’s lawyers in the United Kingdom did not immediately respond to the news service’s request for comment.

“The ruling represents the latest setback for one of Mexico’s richest billionaires in a long legal saga that began when Salinas Pliego left shares of his main appliance distributor and bank, Grupo Elektra, to Sklarov’s company as collateral for a loan (of $400 million). Sklarov is accused of selling the shares and keeping the difference,” Bloomberg said.

Sklarov ran a company called Astor Asset Management, which allegedly tricked Salinas into believing he was dealing with relatives of the historic American Astor dynasty. Sklarov has denied trying to deceive Salinas Pliego, Bloomberg recalled.