City firm avoids order to pay out escrow funds due to prosecution risk
2 March 2021
Clyde & Co: In a bind
A major City law firm should not be ordered to pay into court $325m it is holding in an escrow account, because it risks being prosecuted in America if it does, the High Court has ruled.
Mr Justice Miles said Clyde & Co was “in a bind which it did not create and from which it would like to be released” – but not while it was at risk of criminal prosecution or civil liability.
This case is about $325m held on trust in a NatWest bank account by Clyde for PetroSaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) Ltd (POS).
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
On Attorney General William Barr and the Future of the Department of Justice
Senate Floor
December 19, 2020
As William Barr’s second tenure as Attorney General is coming to an end, it is important for the Senate to reflect upon his legacy, and upon the challenges now facing the Department of Justice.
The Office of Attorney General fills a unique role within our system of government. Created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, an Attorney General is not a traditional member of the President’s cabinet. As Supreme Court Justice James Iredell observed in 1792, the position “is not called the Attorney General of the President, but Attorney General of the United States.” This is because an Attorney General’s client is not the president, but the American people. An Attorney General’s duty is not to defend the president, but to uphold the rule of law and do so with integrity and independence.