In the recent case of Saleemi v Parvez [2025] EWHC 1341 (Ch) and EWHC 1340 (Ch), a fiduciary faced the ultimate consequence for evading court proceedings and wrongly retaining estate funds.
Mr Parvez, the Defendant, was the executor of the estate of Mr Darlow. Mr Saleemi, the Claimant, was the sole beneficiary. The Defendant signed estate accounts in late 2022 and emailed them to the Claimant's solicitors shortly thereafter. Nothing further was heard from him and he failed to account for any money due to the Claimant.
The Defendant was ordered to provide an account within 21 days and to transfer the Estate money (just over £130,000) to the Claimant in 28 days. The order was served personally on the Defendant and by email. Following his failure to comply, the order was reissued with a penal notice.
In January 2025, having still had no engagement nor compliance with the order, the Claimant made a further application but was unable to serve the Defendant. The Court gave the Defendant a final chance by issuing a bench warrant requiring the defendant to attend a hearing. The Tipstaff (a Court appointed official tasked with enforcing court orders) was unable to find the Defendant at his address and those present at the property reported he had not lived there for several years. The Court found the Defendant was evading service.
The question of contempt is assessed at a criminal standard (i.e. beyond reasonable doubt). The Court found the Defendant was clearly in contempt – he had been personally served with proceedings with a penal notice and had taken no steps to engage.
Unusually, the Court decided to sentence immediately rather than adjourning to allow the Defendant the chance to put forward any mitigating circumstances. It was held that the Defendant had refused to attend Court in the face of a bench warrant and it would be disproportionate to put the Claimant to the costs of another hearing.
Section 4 of the Debtors Act 1869 prevents a debtor being sent to prison for failing to pay up, but there is a carve out for trustees or fiduciaries who can be imprisoned for a maximum of 12 months. Having found that the Estate money was in the possession and control of the Defendant, the Court ordered an immediate 12-month custodial sentence. The Defendant was found to have 'wilfully disobeyed a court order with a penal notice. The contempt is aggravated by the fact that he is in a position of trust as an executor'.
It is unclear from the judgment whether the Defendant was tracked down to be able to serve his sentence, but this still acts as a salutary lesson to anyone seeking to evade court proceedings and in particular to fiduciaries who seek to wrongly retain estate funds as the courts are not shy to order a custodial sentence.
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