Crypto-related arbitration and public policy—the English Commercial Court takes a close look at the enforcement of awards (Payward and others v Chechetkin)

Article summary

Arbitration analysis: This is a relatively rare instance of English courts refusing to recognise and enforce an arbitration award on the basis that doing so would be contrary to UK public policy. The case is a notable addition to the growing case law dealing with crypto-assets disputes, which are spurring the courts to look anew at the impact of the enforcement of awards on public policy in this sphere of financial activity. Mr Chechetkin is a UK-domiciled lawyer. In 2020, he used a cryptocurrency exchange platform operated by Payward’s UK subsidiary to acquire trading positions. He incurred losses in excess of £600,000 on the platform and initiated proceedings in the English courts to recover his funds, arguing that Payward’s operations were unauthorised in the UK, and thus that his contract with Payward was unenforceable under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). Payward’s terms and conditions governing trading...