The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) won a bid to force Eurasian Natural Resources Corp (ENRC) to hand over documents the mining company claims are subject to legal privilege, in a triumph for the prosecutor that may have big implications for future cases.
The majority of files sought by the SFO aren’t subject to legal privilege, a London judge ruled Monday, and ENRC must give them to the agency. Legal privilege protects communications containing confidential advice between a client and attorney – and other materials prepared for possible litigation – from being disclosed. Three of four categories of documents sought by the SFO must be turned over, the court said.
