John Deuss and the Caribbean bank he founded, First Curaçao International Bank, have been awarded a combined £18.5 million (about $24.5 million) in legal costs after the collapse of a £280 million fraud lawsuit against the Dutch-born businessman, who has resided in Bermuda since the 1970s.

According to reporting by OffshoreAlert, the costs ruling was handed down by Justice Thomas Leech in the High Court in London on October 23. The judge ordered the claimants, Transworld Payment Solutions UK Ltd (in liquidation) and its liquidator, Stephen Hunt, to pay £7.5 million to FCIB by November 10 and £11 million to Mr Deuss by November 13.

Mr Justice Leech also left open the possibility that Mr Deuss and FCIB could seek recovery from Mr Hunt’s employer, Griffins, and the case’s litigation funder, LCM Funding UK Ltd, part of Australian-based LCM Group.

“The defendants shall make any application to join LCM Funding UK Ltd or Griffins as parties for the purpose of costs by January 12, 2026,” the judge wrote.

The ruling follows Mr Justice Leech’s October 1 decision dismissing all claims brought against Mr Deuss in 2020. Mr Deuss, now 83, is Dutch-born and long associated with FCIB, which was central to the allegations.

At the time of the dismissal, Mr Deuss’s legal team at Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan said the claims stemmed from events between 2003 and 2006 involving missing trader intra-community fraud in the British telecoms and mobile-goods sectors. Mr Hunt had alleged that Mr Deuss dishonestly assisted 19 companies involved in MTIC fraud by providing banking services through FCIB and its marketing arm, TWPS.

“The total value of the claims brought exceeded £280 million,” the firm said.

Mr Deuss made a fortune busting international sanctions to sell oil to South Africa during its apartheid era through his ownership in several energy industry companies, including Bermudian-based Transworld Oil Ltd.

His bank, FCIB, was frequently linked to alleged “carousel” or missing-trader VAT fraud involving British telecoms and mobile-goods traders.

In September 2006, Dutch authorities raided the offices of FCIB, where they believed fraudsters had stashed gains from an international tax fraud scam.

At the time, FCIB’s turnover reportedly ballooned dramatically, drawing the attention of investigators, who noted that “every individual arrested and charged with carousel fraud in the last two years” had an account at FCIB.

Days later, Mr Deuss stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Bermuda Commercial Bank, of which FCIB was the biggest shareholder.

Mr Deuss responded by stressing that FCIB always maintained compliance, insisting that it dealt with only legitimate clients and business, and rejected claims that the bank had acted improperly.

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