The SEC announced on Wednesday that the Supreme Court of Judicature Court of Appeal in the United Kingdom dismissed the appeal of Glenn Manterfield, a UK citizen, of an order by a British court freezing Manterfield’s assets. The High Court of Justice in London had previously issued the order freezing assets held in the United Kingdom by Manterfield on May 16, 2008.
Manterfield is a defendant in a pending Commission enforcement action filed in April 2007 in the US. In that case, the SEC obtained an emergency an asset freeze against Manterfield and others for their roles in an alleged hedge fund fraud said to have involved the misappropriation of millions of dollars from hedge fund investors.
As reported by the AP, British authorities acting in response to the US investigation, froze approximately 500,000 pounds ($700,000) held by Manterfield, a partner in Lydia Capital LLC, in 2007. The three judges of the Supreme Court of Judicature Court of Appeal unanimously rejected Manterfield’s claim that the asset freeze was legally flawed because the SEC was seeking to enforce a foreign law in England.
Referring to the lower court order upholding the freeze, Lord Justice Waller said: “Not only can I detect no error of principle in the judge’s approach, but his conclusion and reasoning is one with which I would entirely agree.” The court refused to allow Manterfield to appeal to the House of Lords.
