Plantation A Legal Thriller
Page 90
Chapter 90
In London, it was now the third day since the hearing in the Admiralty Division when Mr Justice Hedley had ordered Plantation to pay twenty million pounds into court. Since then, no money had materialised.
Grenville and Black had agreed between themselves that paying the money would deplete their funds, if Plantation was on the chopping block. To stave off payment, they persuaded Waring that Plantation was finished : the Stratos claim had already been decided ; even if it was somehow side-stepped, the other five claims would definitely sink the company ; therefore, insolvency was unavoidable and a foregone conclusion.
Without the twenty million, Plantation would have a wafer-thin margin from bankruptcy. According to Waring and his legal ‘experts’, that was the same as dissolution : Plantation had other smaller claims to pay, as part of its ongoing business. Sooner or later, they would push it into the red. As the directors’ duty was to preserve the company’s assets for the benefit of creditors in the event of a crash, the twenty should go unpaid and remain in the general fund. Either way, it would make no difference : Plantation was insolvent. Secured creditors such as the Inland Revenue were demanding their money and would be at the head of the queue. Unsecured creditors such as Hellas Global would be thrown the scraps of whatever was left.
Grenville, Black and Waring had set their future course. They were supported by Waring’s corporate scavengers in Bow Lane and the rest of the board : if Plantation was truly cleaned out, it made little difference what Ashby had demanded in the board meeting before his departure when the list of resolutions was passed. These had been overtaken by events.
When the board made its decision, Grenville told Wells that Waring would shortly be in control. Before long, Wells would be redundant. Wells then tried to contact Ashby in Lagos. Instead, he learned that Ashby had already left his hotel and was en route to Cape Town.
In desperation, Wells contacted Meredith and Riordan. They debated the point between them and concluded that even if Plantation was liquidated, the situation wasn’t irretrievable. Depending on what Ashby turned up in his enquiries, Plantation might still be resurrected : if the claim was proved to be fraudulent, the judgment would evaporate and the twenty million would stay in the company. The board and Waring were making much of nothing. However, for the time being, with Ashby out of the country and no proof of fraud, there was nothing they could do.
Meredith decided to ring Ridgeford Anthony. They, in turn, insisted that Hellas Global should be recognised as a creditor in the liquidation ; if Elefthriou was to receive anything at all, they would have to go through the motions of obtaining a ‘default’ judgment.
Plantation had failed to pay the twenty million pounds as ordered by Hedley ; it was said to be insolvent ; Hellas wanted its claim accepted by the liquidator as an unsecured liability ; for that, they needed a final judgment from the court as soon as possible.
At a specially convened appointment later that day before a junior judge, Frances Keen explained how Plantation had failed to pay the twenty million : Plantation’s own lawyers had told her it was broke. At the end of it all, Hellas Global finally had what it wanted – a cast-iron judgment against Plantation – but there was no actual money, to the absolute consternation of Elefthriou and Thanakis.
“We’ve been to hell and back, in court hearings and producing evidence over two years and now this,” whined Thanakis. “And this is the famous ‘British justice’ ?”