- A £9.5bn ($12bn) civil claim has been filed in Colorado.
- Barclays acted as trustee, HSBC is accused of “dishonest assistance”.
- The case centres on a Jersey trust once linked to Jeffrey Epstein disclosures.
HSBC and Barclays are facing a sprawling £9.5bn ($12bn) lawsuit in the US over their alleged links to a now-defunct Jersey trust that has surfaced in investigations connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
The claim, filed in a federal court in Colorado, has been brought by American heiress Tanya Dick-Stock and her husband Darrin Stock. They allege that an offshore trust business called La Hougue was improperly appointed to manage family assets and that funds were transferred in breach of the original trust terms.
Barclays and certain related entities, along with trust business Zedra, are named as defendants. HSBC is not accused of acting as trustee but is alleged to have provided what the complaint describes as “dishonest assistance”. The bank is said to have taken on accounts linked to La Hougue after the structure moved to Panama. Barclays and HSBC declined to comment when approached. Zedra has also been contacted.
A trust at the centre of questions
At the heart of the case is a Colorado-based trust set up by Tanya Dick-Stock’s late father, John Dick, a former director of Liberty Global and once Seigneur of St John in Jersey. According to the complaint, the trust required that any successor trustee be a US-regulated bank or trust company.
The claimants argue that this requirement was sidestepped when Jersey-based La Hougue was appointed instead. They describe this as “fraud on a power”, alleging the move allowed assets to be shifted offshore.
La Hougue has long attracted scrutiny. Media reports over recent years have alleged the business created fake loans, backdated agreements and complex paper trails that were used to mislead creditors, reduce tax exposure and conceal the movement of funds. There has been no formal finding against La Hougue in relation to fraud.
However, former trustees have admitted in a US court that the firm sometimes fabricated documentation for itself and clients. Late in 2025, La Hougue appeared on a list of 72 individuals and organisations cited in proposed US legislation seeking disclosure of Treasury records allegedly linked to the Epstein scandal.
The £9.5bn figure claimed in damages reflects what the couple say was diverted from the trust over decades through what they describe as fabricated loans and commingled accounts that benefited others rather than the named beneficiary.
The couple are represented by former US senator John Edwards.
Old names resurface
The lawsuit also revives names previously associated with La Hougue documents uncovered in 2021. Files examined at the time suggested unusual circular debt arrangements involving Kevin and Ian Maxwell, brothers of Ghislaine Maxwell. Malcolm Grumbridge, a former solicitor and long-time associate of the Maxwell family, also featured in those papers.
None of the Maxwells or Grumbridge are parties to the current litigation. They have previously denied involvement in La Hougue as investors, shareholders or directors, and said they had no knowledge of tax avoidance or similar schemes. Grumbridge has stated there was no wrongdoing on his part and that La Hougue was not his client.
The fresh claim adds another chapter to the lingering fallout from the Epstein affair for major banks. Barclays’ former chief executive Jes Staley stepped down in 2021 following scrutiny over his past association with Epstein. HSBC was among several global banks reported to have held accounts for Epstein at various times.
For now, the Colorado court will determine whether the allegations hold. The sums involved are vast and the history complex. What is clear is that a Jersey trust once operating quietly offshore has again drawn some of Britain’s biggest banks into uncomfortable legal territory.
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