Mr Kelbrick has succeeded in his claims for damages arising from wrongly granted freezing order relief.

The saga began in 2015 when Mr Fredriksen’s companies initiated a $500 million fraud action claiming the defendant had conspired in a West African oil trading fraud. A worldwide freezing injunction, one of the “nuclear weapons” available under English law, was issued against Mr Kelbrick on the basis, it was said, that the claims against him had a real prospect of success. 

Ten years of bitterly contested litigation followed. After a 12-week trial, Mr Justice Henshaw handed down a 400-page judgment in January 2025 dismissing all claims.

The worldwide freezing injunction that had been in place for 10 years was discharged. Mr Kelbrick then pursued claims that the injunction had destroyed his business, curtailed his earnings, ruined a range of investment opportunities and had a serious and detrimental impact not only on him, but also his family.

Following a four-week trial with respect to these claims, Mr Justice Henshaw handed down a 358-page Judgment on 29 October 2026, awarding Mr Kelbrick substantial damages, which along with the recoveries of two other Defendants, is considered one of the largest successful claims of this type. 

A modern day, David v Goliath, proving that “lawfare” can be won with strategy, skill and tenacity, no matter the strength, tactics and resources of the adversary. 

The King & Spalding team that represented Mr Kelbrick and Attock Oil comprised Tom Sprange KC, Sarah Walker, Charity Kirby, Liam Petch, Kate Williamson and Lisa Wong. Freddie Popplewell and Edward Mourdant of Essex Court were instructed as Junior Counsel.

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