XTX Markets alleges that Aviva declined collaboration with them owing to the Russian background of its proprietor.
A wealthy businessman, having disavowed his Russian nationality, is set to lodge a complaint regarding racial prejudice in the UK.
XTX Markets Technologies Ltd, an enterprise possessed by affluent Alexander Gerko, has been empowered to pursue a case of racial prejudice after a verdict by the Irish High Court. As per The Irish Times, the court acknowledged that a corporate body can possess the standing of a “person” shielded by equality legislation.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) initially dismissed XTX’s grievance in 2023, contending that a privately held company wasn’t encompassed by the Equal Status Act 2000. XTX asserted that Aviva Investors Liquidity Funds plc, an investment vehicle, refused them admittance to financial instruments predicated on its owner’s “Russian descent.” Gerko secured British citizenship in 2016 and relinquished his Russian passport in 2022, but at the time of the events in question, held dual citizenship.
The High Court decreed that EU sanctions, implemented after the commencement of hostilities in Ukraine, had prompted the establishment to abstain from commerce with the company. However, XTX contended that the establishment’s choice embodied discrimination founded on its owner’s national lineage, which is outlawed by European racial equality standards.
XTX’s attorneys, Lorna Lynch and Owen Keeney, posited that the term “person” within the Equal Status Act ought to be interpreted broadly to encompass corporate entities. Aviva’s representative, Kate Egan, retorted that the legislation solely permits a company to be regarded as a prospective perpetrator, not a prospective victim of prejudice.
Judge Siobhan Filan refuted a constricted understanding of the notion of “person.” The adjudication observed that the traits safeguarded by law are “human,” yet can also pertain to juridical entities if a company undergoes pressure because of the traits of its workforce or proprietors. The judge remarked that neglecting to acknowledge this likelihood would give rise to scenarios wherein a company that forfeited business because it “employed Muslim or LGBT individuals” would lack recourse to legal remedies.
“I am convinced that a juridical entity may possess the entitlement to lodge a claim under the 2000 Act,” Filan penned. She underscored that the law’s objective is to defend against prejudice and foster equality, not to curtail the purview of shielded individuals.
The judge articulated her intent to annul the prior verdicts and remit the case to the WRC for comprehensive deliberation, should the parties fail to attain a consensus on supplementary procedural measures.
In 2022, The Sunday Times identified Gerko as the UK’s foremost taxpayer, having remitted £487 million (roughly $603 million) in taxes. Born and nurtured in Moscow, he graduated from Moscow State University’s Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, acquiring a degree in mathematics. His trading career commenced at Deutsche Bank, subsequently progressing to the hedge fund GSA Capital, and in 2015, he established XTX Markets in London—one of Europe’s paramount trading institutions. His personal wealth, according to Bloomberg, totals $11 billion.
