South Africa has won a protracted legal battle with a British millionaire over treasure trove of silver recovered from a World War II shipwreck at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
The UK’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the government on Wednesday, after it appealed to the Court of Appeal against an earlier decision against it in the High Court of Justice.
The government had argued in court that it did not owe hedge fund boss Paul Saul Marshall’s salvage company, Argentum Exploration, payment that he was claiming for finding the treasure in the Indian Ocean.
The silver, valued at more than £34 million in 2020, was bought by the then Union of South Africa from India in 1942. However, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the passenger ship, SS Tilawa, while it was transporting the cargo to Durban. The ship sank, resulting in the deaths of 280 people and the loss of the silver.
Argentum Exploration found the 2 364 silver bars from the wreck of the SS Tilawa at a depth of 2.5km under the Indian Ocean in 2017. It took the silver to the UK to claim salvage rights in 2020.
The company told the court that it accepted that South Africa owned the treasure but claimed compensation for finding it. It has argued that South Africa’s case was an exception to immunity under Section 10.4.a of the State Immunity Act 1978 because the vessel and the silver cargo were being used or intended to be used for commercial purposes.
South Africa had argued that the silver, which was intended to mint coins, was not being used for commercial purposes at the time of the loss, although the passenger vessel was on a commercial voyage.
Handing down judgement this week, Supreme Court Judge Lord Lloyd Jones said the court had unanimously allowed South Africa’s appeal as the country had sovereign immunity from Argentum’s claim.
“We hold that the silver was not in use nor intended for use for commercial purposes at the time when the cause of action arose. And so the exception to immunity cannot be relied upon by Argentum. Therefore, South Africa is entitled to immunity from Argentum’s claim in REM against the silver,” said Jones.
He said the court had been informed that the parties had reached a settlement agreement on 26 April.
“The parties have agreed that we should nevertheless hand down this judgment and we are satisfied that it is appropriate to do so,” Jones said.
Marshall heads Marshall Wace, a hedge fund with £52.3billion in assets and is an investor in channel GB News. He has a fortune of around £680million and is rumoured to be considering buying the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
