MB LEGAL

26/04/2026

COURT VICTORY: Charity Fights Off Claim from 'UK's Scariest Debt Collector'

A UK charity has successfully defended itself in court against a company owned by Shaun Smith, often called the UK's 'scariest debt collector' (known for his 2013 Vice News documentary and the 2018 Netflix documentary Bare Knuckle Fight Club). This case serves as a powerful reminder not to be intimidated by non-compliant or questionable collection attempts\!

Shaun Smith Enterprises Limited (SSEL) claimed Eldonian Community Trust Limited (Eldonian charity) owed £25,500 for alleged "consultancy services".

In a hearing at Liverpool County Court, District Judge Louise Metcalf dismissed the claim in full and awarded fixed costs against SSEL.

The Eldonian Community Trust welcomed the outcome, stating the decision provides "certainty and allows the Trust to continue its work without the burden of ongoing litigation". Vice Chair Maureen Price added she was "really pleased to see this resolved. It gives us the space to move forward and focus on what truly matters, our community". The charity specifically thanked its legal team: Daniel Crowley and Paul Currie.

This case demonstrates that questionable or abusive claims by debt collection entities can be successfully challenged and defeated in court. Know your rights and stand up against abuse of process!

MB Legal has been helping its clients on defending such claims as in house lawyers.

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26/04/2026

Paresh Shantilal Raja, a director of the collapsed firm MARKET FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED, is facing a massive £1.3 billion lawsuit over alleged breach of fiduciary duties.

The London High Court has granted a worldwide freezing order against Mr. Raja's assets.

In related developments, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened an investigation into MARKET FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED regarding its compliance with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.

09/03/2026

🚨 FRAUD ALERT: Directors Banned Over Fake £9.8M NHS Contract 🚨

A husband-and-wife duo has been banned from running companies for a combined 23 years after an elaborate scam involving a fabricated £9.8 million NHS contract.

Tanveer Khan (55) and his wife Tasneem tricked investors out of more than £2 million by claiming their company, Matz Medical Limited, was fulfilling a massive order for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds for NHS Wales.

The reality? The order never existed. Their company had actually been suspended from all NHS supply frameworks since 2019!

To pull off this "sustained and deliberate campaign of dishonesty," the couple used:

❌ Forged delivery notes for over 1,000 fake ICU beds
❌ Fake emails from "NHS officials"
❌ Doctored bank records

As a result, Tanveer has been slapped with a 13-year ban as a company director, while Tasneem has been disqualified for 10 years.

To read the full details of the investigation by the Insolvency Service, click the link below 👇

Husband-and-wife banned as company directors for combined 23 years

23/02/2026

University College London (UCL) has agreed to pay £21m to settle claims from around 6,500 students who argued they did not receive the education they paid for during COVID lockdowns. Although UCL admitted no liability, the deal could see students receive roughly £3,000 each.

The dispute centres on teaching moving online and campus facilities closing despite full tuition fees being charged. UCL said it settled to avoid further legal costs and disruption.

21/12/2025

The directors of Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group, the company behind TGI Fridays, filed the notice of intent to appoint Adminstrators with the court on 19 December 2025.

23/07/2025

In a landmark ruling today (UKSC 2024/0088, R v Palombo), the Supreme Court has unanimously quashed the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo in the high-profile LIBOR and EURIBOR manipulation cases.
The Court clarified that a LIBOR or EURIBOR submission, which involves a subjective assessment from a range of possible rates, is not automatically dishonest simply because it was influenced by a trading advantage.
The crucial legal point: Whether a rate submission was "false or misleading" depends on whether it represented the submitter's actual genuine opinion. This is a question of fact for the jury to decide, not a matter of law for the judge to direct.
The judge in Mr Hayes' trial erred by instructing the jury that trading influence automatically meant a submission was not genuine, effectively removing the defence from the jury's consideration. This rendered the trial unfair. Similar errors impacted Mr Palombo's conviction.

This judgment provides vital clarity on the definition of honesty in the context of subjective financial benchmarks and reaffirms the fundamental role of the jury in determining questions of fact in criminal trials.

03/05/2025

A United Nations judge has been jailed for six years and four months for forcing a woman to work as a domestic slave.

Lydia Mugambe, 50, was studying for a PhD in law at the University of Oxford when police discovered she had a young Ugandan woman at her home carrying out unpaid work as a maid and nanny.

Mugambe, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Friday after she was found guilty of modern day slavery offences in March.

In sentencing, Judge David Foxton told the defendant she "showed absolutely no remorse" for her actions and she had looked to "forcibly blame" the victim for what happened.

Source: BBC News

01/04/2025

The Supreme Court is commencing a three-day hearing today to determine if the practice of car finance brokers receiving lender commissions without fully informed customer consent is unlawful, a decision that could establish a defining precedent for consumer finance regulations.

02/07/2024

The Court of Appeal has criticised a judge for her “blatantly unfair conduct”, finding that an interchange with a father demonstrated a “complete failure of proper judicial process”.

Source: Local Government Lawyer

02/07/2024

The chief executive of Lambeth Council, Bayo Dosunmu, has been arrested and charged with a series of driving and drug offences.

Source: Local Government Lawyer