(Bloomberg) -- Investor Robert Tchenguiz was ordered to pay £1.31 million ($1.6 million) to an online spread-betting company after losing a legal spat where he was accused of failing to pay his debt.
CMC Spreadbet Plc, a unit of CMC Markets, sued Tchenguiz after the debt racked up during market turmoil linked to the coronavirus pandemic. The loss arose after shares in FirstGroup Plc, a transport operator, tanked in March 2020.
But the British tycoon claimed CMC breached its contract by closing out his account.
Tchenguiz “did not seem to have been concerned to read the warnings he was given” or to have checked details that showed “he considered he knew what he was doing,” Judge David Elvin said in the Friday ruling.
Tchenguiz, a veteran financier who had a more than 4% stake in FirstGroup in 2019, was involved in a separate case in March. He won a court battle against Westminster City Council in March over claims parking measures outside his home infringed his human rights.
“Traders are opportunistic and when we at our most vulnerable, they take full advantage of us,” Tchenguiz said in a statement. He will appeal the decision.
A representative for CMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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