CCC Bank Accounts Frozen in Athens, Greece

Consolidated Contractors International Company SAL (CCIC), the principal operating company of the Consolidated Contractors group (CCC), has had its bank accounts in Greece frozen by the Greek courts in Athens.

Immediate Release

CCC Bank Accounts Frozen in Athens, Greece

Consolidated Contractors International Company SAL (CCIC), the principal operating company of the Consolidated Contractors group (CCC), has had its bank accounts in Greece frozen by the Greek courts in Athens. 

This is the latest development in a long running legal action in which Mr Munib Masri, who signed an agreement with CC (Oil & Gas) and CCIC in 1992, successfully sued the companies in a dispute over the sharing of revenues from production in the Yemeni Masila oil field.

CCC, one of the Middle East’s largest construction groups with a multi-billion dollar turnover, is headquartered in Athens, employing around 500 staff through its operating company CCIC. At an earlier hearing the Greek Court was told by Mr Nasri, an officer of CCIC, that the company would be unable to pay and would have to dismiss all of its Greek employees if an injunction was granted.

The same freezing order was granted against CC (Oil & Gas), which holds CCC’s main oil and gas investments. CC (Oil & Gas) recently had its assets in the Cayman Islands frozen, including shares in companies associated with CCC’s interests in oil concessions in Yemen. 

CCIC and CC (Oil & Gas) are in contempt of final orders of the English court currently requiring the payment of in excess of $70 million, as a result of Mr Masri winning his breach of contract case. Freezing injunctions and similar orders against the companies are now in place in England, Nigeria, Greece, Bermuda, Switzerland, Palestine and the Cayman Islands.

With the companies facing enforcement proceedings all around the world, in Lebanon where the companies are incorporated KPMG has been appointed by the court as judicial administrator for the companies.

In seeking to justify its contempt of the English Court Orders, CCC’s public position has been that the decisions of the English court were unfair, breaching the companies’ rights, and that an application to the European Court of Human Rights would ultimately result in the English judgment being overturned.  However, in May of this year, their application challenging the fairness of the English proceedings was struck out at the first hurdle. 

Commenting, Simon Morgan, partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons, representing Mr Masri said:

“This latest Order is particularly significant because of the presence of CCIC’s headquarters in Athens and shows that CCIC will not be able to evade enforcement in Greece or elsewhere.“

For further information contact:

Richard Elsen

Byfield Consultancy

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30-34 Moorgate

London EC2R 6DN

Direct Dial      +44 (0) 20 7256 4911

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