Liquidators win £1.1m claim against Marrache sibling

The liquidators of Marrache & Co have successfully sued Raphael Marrache – a brother of Benjamin, Isaac and Solomon Marrache - for £1.1m he received from the law firm prior to its collapse in 2010.

The judgement handed down by Acting Puisne Judge Liam Yeats was met with angry outbursts from Raphael Marrache, who robustly rejected the findings and had to be warned by the judge to remain silent in court.

In his judgement, Mr Justice Yeats concluded that Raphael had sold his share of a Main Street property portfolio inherited from his parents to his brothers Benjamin, Isaac and Solomon Marrache – who were later convicted of defrauding their clients at Marrache & Co.

During a week-long hearing last November, the law firm’s liquidators, Edgar Lavarello and Adrian Hyde, had sought to recover £1.1m transferred between 2004 and 2010 to Raphael.

Raphael strongly rejected the claim and represented himself throughout the court hearing. He claims the money was a monthly salary he earned at the law firm.

The liquidator’s case rested on a ledger the brothers’ kept of Raphael’s expenses to keep tabs and reclaim parts of his inheritance.

Mr Justice Yeats analysed the accuracy of this ledger throughout his judgement, and highlighted the evidence given by Isaac, Benjamin and Solomon had been at “odds with each other”.

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