CREDIT SUISSE TRUST LIMITED v BIDZINA IVANISHVILI & 4 Ors

[2024] SGCA(I) 5 Court of Appeal (International) 5 July 2024 CA/CAS 10/2023 79 min read

16 cases cited (13 SG, 3 foreign) Cited by 2 cases

Outcome

Appeal allowed

we allow the appeal but only in part.

Source: [2024] SGCA(I) 5, Court of Appeal (International), decided 5 July 2024. Read directly from the judgment.

Key facts

Court	Court of Appeal (International)
Decided	5 July 2024
Judges	Andrew Phang Boon Leong, Robert French, Steven Chong
Charges / claim	Equity, Evidence
Outcome	Appeal allowed
Counsel	Allen & Gledhill LLP, Drew & Napier LLC, Rajah & Tann LLP, Afzal Ali, Cavinder Bull, Disa Sim, Gan Yun Han Rebecca, Gerald Paul Seah, Justin William Jeremiah, Kelly Tseng Ai Lin, Kenneth Lim Tao Chung, Lee Eng Beng, Liang Fang Ling Elizabeth, Mak Sushan Melissa, Tan Yuan Kheng, Torsten Cheong, Wong Pei Ting, Woo Shu Yan

Source: [2024] SGCA(I) 5, Court of Appeal (International), decided 5 July 2024 — eLitigation. Updated 25 June 2026.

Catchwords

Equity — Remedies — Equitable compensation Evidence — Principles — Expert evidence on appeal Equity — Fiduciary relationships — Duties — Duty to act in good faith

Practice Areas

Equity Evidence

Judges (3)

Andrew Phang Boon Leong Coram Robert French Coram Steven Chong Delivered

Counsel (18)

Allen & Gledhill LLP Firm Drew & Napier LLC Firm Rajah & Tann LLP Firm Afzal Ali Counsel Appellant Cavinder Bull Counsel Respondent Disa Sim Counsel Appellant Gan Yun Han Rebecca Counsel Appellant Gerald Paul Seah Counsel Respondent Justin William Jeremiah Counsel Appellant Kelly Tseng Ai Lin Counsel Respondent Kenneth Lim Tao Chung Counsel Appellant Lee Eng Beng Counsel Appellant Liang Fang Ling Elizabeth Counsel Respondent Mak Sushan Melissa Counsel Appellant Tan Yuan Kheng Counsel Respondent Torsten Cheong Counsel Appellant Wong Pei Ting Counsel Appellant Woo Shu Yan Counsel Respondent

Parties (6)

Credit Suisse Trust Limited Appellant Bera Ivanishvili Respondent Bidzina Ivanishvili Respondent Ekaterine Khvedelidze Respondent Gvantsa Ivanishvili Respondent Tsotne Ivanishvili Respondent

Case Significance

Credit Suisse Trust Limited v Ivanishvili, Bidzina and others [2024] SGCA(I) 5 was a decision of the Court of Appeal of Singapore (Civil Appeal No 10 of 2023), arising from Suit No 4 of 2021. The judgment was delivered by Steven Chong JCA on 5 July 2024, sitting with Andrew Phang Boon Leong SJ and Robert French IJ, following hearings on 8 April and 10 May 2024. The appeal concerned the consequences of a fraud perpetrated over more than a decade by a relationship manager who was a senior employee of Credit Suisse AG ("CS Bank"), not of the appellant, Credit Suisse Trust Limited ("CS Trust"); both formed part of the Credit Suisse Group.

The respondents — Bidzina Ivanishvili, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, Tsotne Ivanishvili, Gvantsa Ivanishvili and Bera Ivanishvili — had deposited assets (the "Trust Assets") which CS Trust owed a duty to protect and safeguard. CS Trust did not dispute that it had breached its duty to safeguard the Trust Assets, and the court noted that the ultimate analysis of the consequences of the fraud depended on the nature of that breach of duty. As recorded in the catchwords, the appeal engaged equitable compensation, fiduciary duties including the duty to act in good faith, and the principles governing expert evidence on appeal. CS Trust was represented by Allen & Gledhill LLP and Rajah & Tann LLP, while the respondents were represented by Drew & Napier LLC, with Cavinder Bull among their counsel.

[2024] SGCA(I) 5 explained

CREDIT SUISSE TRUST LIMITED v BIDZINA IVANISHVILI & 4 Ors ([2024] SGCA(I) 5) is a Singapore judgment decided by the Court of Appeal (International) on 5 July 2024. It is categorised under Equity and Evidence. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 2 other reported Singapore judgments, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2024] SGCA(I) 5 about?

CREDIT SUISSE TRUST LIMITED v BIDZINA IVANISHVILI & 4 Ors ([2024] SGCA(I) 5) is a Court of Appeal (International) decision from 2024. Its published catchwords are “Equity — Remedies — Equitable compensation”, “Evidence — Principles — Expert evidence on appeal”, and “Equity — Fiduciary relationships — Duties — Duty to act in good faith”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2024] SGCA(I) 5?

Within this corpus, [2024] SGCA(I) 5 has been cited by 2 later reported Singapore judgments. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

What did the Court of Appeal decide in Credit Suisse Trust Limited v Ivanishvili [2024] SGCA(I) 5?

In [2024] SGCA(I) 5, the Court of Appeal addressed the consequences of a decade-long fraud by a Credit Suisse AG relationship manager. CS Trust did not dispute breaching its duty to safeguard the Trust Assets, and the court held the analysis depended on the nature of that breach.

Who were the parties in Credit Suisse Trust Limited v Ivanishvili [2024] SGCA(I) 5?

The appellant was Credit Suisse Trust Limited; the respondents were Bidzina Ivanishvili, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, Tsotne Ivanishvili, Gvantsa Ivanishvili and Bera Ivanishvili, who had deposited the Trust Assets. The judgment was delivered by Steven Chong JCA on 5 July 2024.

What legal principles were considered in [2024] SGCA(I) 5?

The Court of Appeal in [2024] SGCA(I) 5 considered equitable compensation, fiduciary relationships and the duty to act in good faith, and the principles governing expert evidence on appeal, in the context of a breach of CS Trust's duty to safeguard the Trust Assets.

Cases Cited (16)

SLR (13)

[2010] 1 SLR 1129 [2012] 4 SLR 339 [2014] 3 SLR 329 [2016] 2 SLR 944 [2017] 1 SLR 654 [2017] 2 SLR 592 [2018] 1 SLR 180 [2020] 1 SLR 1199 [2022] 1 SLR 1240 [2022] 1 SLR 302 [2023] 1 SLR 1648 [2023] 5 SLR 59 [2024] 3 SLR 78

UK (3)

[1997] 1 AC 191 [1998] Ch 1 [2021] 3 WLR 81