Ben Ko

Ben has extensive experience of complex, high value, multijurisdictional commercial litigation, including taking heavy cases through to trial in the High Court; appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court; applications for injunctive relief; enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards; and settlement of disputes pursuant to various forms of ADR. He has particular experience and expertise in cases heard in International Commercial Courts, such as the ADGM Court.

He also has wide experience of commercial arbitration under various institutional rules, including the ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, and SCC Rules. 

Commercial Litigation

• Acting for one of India's largest public sector banks in a multiparty USD 6 billon claim in the Abu Dhabi Global Market Court brought by the Administrators of formerly the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE, involving complex insolvency and fraud claims and listed for a four-month trial in 2026.
• Acting for a major investment bank in a complex Commercial Court claim relating to a EUR 1.35 billon bond issue against a Spanish property holding company.
• Acting for one of the largest banks in Georgia in multiparty English High Court litigation brought by a Georgian oligarch, including claims of unlawful means conspiracy, intimidation, negligence and breach of statutory duty.
• Acting for a London-based regulated securities broker in parallel proceedings, including various applications for concurrent injunctive relief, brought in the High Court of Hong Kong and the English Commercial Court in claims involving allegations of misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust and dishonest assistance.
• Acting for an offshore company beneficially owned the former Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and former CEO of Ukraine’s national oil and gas company in claims before the English Commercial Court. The complex, multi-billion dollar litigation – involving 25 separate parties and various claims, counterclaims and additional claims under Ukrainian and English law - arose out of the separation of valuable joint business interests of three Ukrainian businessmen. Culminated in an eight-week trial and ultimate award of indemnity costs.
• Acting for the Defendant, one of the world’s largest interdealer brokers, in complex Financial List proceedings involving allegations of dishonest assistance in a Missing Trader Intra-Community VAT carousel fraud on the carbon credit trading market.
• Acting for the receivers of a large insolvent Thai bank to enforce Thai judgments against English assets of former members of the bank's senior management imprisoned for embezzlement of the bank's funds.
• Acting at first instance and on appeal for a Taiwanese bank in a High Court dispute over the true quantum of a Belgian court judgment sought to be enforced against it in England. Successfully obtained an award of costs following detailed assessment proceedings.
• Assisting on the asset tracing and enforcement elements of a $800 million English judgment obtained in 1999 in favour of Grupo Torras, a Spanish company owned by the government of Kuwait. The matter involves proceedings in multiple jurisdictions to identify, freeze, trace and recover various assets worldwide.
• Acting for a luxury hotel chain in its successful defence of a multi-million pound claim brought in the English High Court, including securing the award and payment of indemnity costs.

International Commercial Arbitration

• Acting for the Respondents, one of the largest fintech groups in Europe, in a Stockholm seated SCC arbitration against a Russian software company regarding an aborted complex large-scale IT software project for a state body in Russia.
• Acting for the Respondents, two Chinese state-owned manufacturers of electronic consumer goods, in an arbitration seated in Paris under the ICC Rules worth almost USD 100 million brought by its former Egyptian distributor.
• Acting for one of the world’s leading oilfield services providers in its recovery of unpaid invoices from a major Chinese conglomerate arising out of operations in Sub-Saharan Africa under contracts providing for arbitration administered by the HKIAC.
• Acting for an international oil major, the Operator of a gas processing facility, in successful multi-million pound ad hoc arbitral proceedings against another oil major in a dispute over the specification and processing of gas extracted from the North Sea. Arbitration conducted on an expedited basis and concluded within six weeks from execution of the arbitration agreement to the rendering of an Award.

• Law Society of England & Wales
• Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association (Committee Member)
• Commercial Litigators’ Forum (Associates Committee)
• London Solicitors Litigation Association
• LCIA Young International Arbitration Group
• HKIAC HK45

• Hong Kong