Fichte & Co Secures USD 50 million Worldwide Freezing Order from the DIFC Courts in Support of Foreign Arbitration

We are pleased to announce that Fichte & Co has secured a USD 50 million worldwide freezing order from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts in support of confidential foreign arbitration proceedings concerning an oil & gas trade dispute.

The freezing order was obtained against a company registered in mainland Dubai which, at the time of the application, did not appear to have assets in the DIFC.

The case raised an important question concerning the scope of the DIFC Courts’ jurisdiction under Article 15(4) of the DIFC Courts Law No. 2 of 2025, which provides for interim and precautionary measures in relation to arbitral proceedings brought outside the DIFC.

The DIFC Court confirmed that the jurisdiction under Article 15(4) is not dependent on the respondent being a DIFC-registered entity or having assets located in the DIFC. The Court followed the DIFC Court of Appeal’s decision in Trafigura PTE Ltd v Gupta [2025] DIFC CA 001, where the Court of Appeal confirmed that Article 15(4) provides a standalone jurisdiction to grant interim relief in support of foreign proceedings.

The focus is on whether the precautionary relief sought is a suitable measure within the DIFC in support of the foreign proceedings, including to prevent the enforcement of a future judgment or award from being frustrated by the dissipation of assets.

In the proceedings, the Court also held that Orabelle v Orzenia (ARB 7/2026) should not be followed for so long as Trafigura remains authoritative.

In addition to freezing the respondent’s assets up to USD 50 million, the order included extensive asset and information disclosure obligations, requiring the respondent to provide documents and information concerning its worldwide assets and financial dealings. Such disclosure is an important ancillary feature of freezing relief and can assist in identifying assets and monitoring compliance with the order.

The case demonstrates the important role of the DIFC Courts in providing effective interim protection in support of international arbitration, including where the respondent and its assets have no obvious connection with the DIFC.

The matter was led by Arthur Dedels, Senior Associate at Fichte & Co, under the supervision of Alessandro Tricoli, Partner, with Sean Yates of Outer Temple Chambers acting as lead counsel for advocacy and strategic advice.

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