Banque de Commerce et de Placements SA, DIFC Branch & Anor v China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd

Case Significance

Banque de Commerce et de Placements SA, DIFC Branch and another v China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd [2024] SGHC 145 was decided by the General Division of the High Court of Singapore on 5 June 2024, in Suit No 675 of 2020, with judgment delivered by Goh Yihan J. The plaintiffs were Banque de Commerce et de Placements SA, DIFC Branch and Banque De Commence Et De Placements SA; the defendant was China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd, with Shandong Energy International (Singapore) Pte Ltd as third party and Golden Base Energy Pte Ltd as fourth party. The dispute concerned a letter of credit transaction and a letter of indemnity presented by the beneficiary for payment, in which the beneficiary represented and warranted the "existence, authenticity and validity" of signed bills of lading issued or endorsed to the order of the issuing bank. The catchwords identify a wide range of issues, including whether a representative office was a branch bank and whether the plaintiff had standing to sue; whether the contract was a sham or fraudulent; whether the fraud exception was established and whether the relevant representation was false; whether the issuing bank had a cause of action in negligent misrepresentation against the beneficiary; whether the representation and warranty should be construed literally or purposively and whether they contained an "element of futurity"; mitigation of damage; and restitution and the requirement of direct enrichment with an exception for coordinated transactions. The defendant was represented by Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP (counsel including Toh Kian Sing), the plaintiffs by Focus Law Asia LLC, the third party by Oliver Quek & Associates, and the fourth party by LVM Law Chambers LLP.