Pete Karamountzos

Commercial Litigation

• Representing an ASX-listed manufacturer of agricultural products in proceedings commenced in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory involving a contractual dispute and allegations of multiple breaches of the Australian Consumer Law.
• Representing a high-net-worth individual in contesting a bankruptcy petition presented in the English High Court by an Emirati bank. The bankruptcy petition is founded on a judgment debt originating from litigation in Dubai.
• Representing a former trader in a claim against his former employer, an international bank, concerning his wrongful prosecution for alleged LIBOR market manipulation. The client was fully acquitted of all criminal charges.
• Representing a client facing imminent eviction and termination of a large commercial licence, obtaining an urgent injunction and securing favourable terms at mediation, including withdrawal of a substantial damages claim and renewed licences on improved terms.
• Representing an Italian manufacturer in multi-million-pound product liability claims brought by various claimants and a co-defendant arising from fires, involving complex multi-party litigation and contribution proceedings.
• Representing an individual in a reference to the Upper Tribunal challenging a Decision Notice issued by the Financial Conduct Authority prohibiting him from preforming any senior management function. The matter involves alleged misconduct in relation to a discretionary fund management business carried out through a brokerage on behalf of retail customers, with allegations that markdowns on holdings were illegitimately applied and not properly notified to customers.
• Representing a high-net-worth individual in a cross-border dispute against a Swiss bank arising from an investment allegedly recommended in breach of UK financial services regulations, including claims under FSMA for breach of the General Prohibition and Financial Promotion Restriction.
• Representing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in various civil penalty proceedings brought for breaches relating to the provision of financial services including margin FX products, crypto-currencies and scam-prevention in a retail banking context.
• Representing an ASX-listed financial institution in Federal Court civil penalty proceedings brought by ASIC alleging various contraventions of the responsible lending provisions in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
• Representing a large international alternative asset manager regarding the ability to challenge a regulator’s potential decision to take administrative action against it.

International Arbitration

• Advising a large international contractor in Singapore seated ICC arbitration proceedings regarding a major infrastructure project.
• Advising an English mining equipment manufacturer in a Geneva‑seated Swiss arbitration brought by a Russian debt assignee seeking to enforce an alleged liability against the client.