James Counsell QC successfully prosecutes dishonest broker in Lloyd’s Disciplinary Tribunal

Mr Charles O’Sullivan, formerly a member of an LLP, member of Lloyd’s and a managing director of the special risks division of Besso Limited, was found guilty of charges of discreditable conduct.

A disciplinary tribunal was told by James Counsell QC representing the Council of Lloyd’s, how Mr O’Sullivan, whilst acting as a placing broker in a series of insurance transactions between 2009 and 2012, deliberately misled other parties as to how much and what type of remuneration was being or had been earned by his company for financial gain. In all, he earned for those companies sums in excess of US$1.7m as a result of his deception. The Tribunal banned him from Lloyd’s, declared him unfit to be a member of a member of Lloyd’s, ordered him to pay costs and issued a notice of censure which has just been published.

Mr O’Sullivan appealed to the President of the Appeal Tribunal and then to the Council itself (against sanction) but those appeals failed to overturn those findings or the sanction. James Counsell QC successfully represented the respondent Council on both occasions.

News 2 Mar, 2017