In the case Minwalla v Minwalla & Others the High Court concluded that the Fountain Trust should be treated as a ‘sham’ in that the trust had been set up as a screen to conceal the resources of the settlor, Darayus Cyrus Minwalla, in particular from his fourth wife.
The trustees were ordered to transfer the trust assets to the wife, Meher Darayus Minwalla.
The judgment concluded that the trustees’ conduct ‘left a great deal to be desired’ and that they were privy to the sham, in the sense that they went along with the intentions of the husband, a very wealthy man who was ‘unco-operative’ and contemptuous of his obligation to make full and frank disclosure.
The court ordered £4.
million to be paid to the wife.
The case came before the Royal Court in July, following a representation by the trustees, CI Law Trust and Folio Trust Company Ltd, who sought directions as to how to respond.
