Foley Hoag Secures Dismissal of Case Against Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in US District Court for the SDNY
April 01, 2022
On March 30, 2022, Foley Hoag LLP obtained an important victory for its client Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (“BTRC”), by securing the dismissal of a case brought by plaintiff, Nayeem Chowdhury, against BTRC and Veon Ltd.
The dispute arose from an auction of a spectrum bandwidth license in Bangladesh. Mr. Chowdhury alleged breach of contract and fraud arising from a spectrum auction held by BTRC involving WorldTel Bangladesh Limited (“WorldTel”). He sought damages in the amount of at least US$2.39 billion. Chowdhury filed the action despite the fact that WorldTel, a non-party company in which Chowdhury is allegedly an investor, had already commenced arbitration proceedings against BTRC in Bangladesh, disputing the results of the auction.
The court granted BTRC’s motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds, concluding that BTRC was an “agency or instrumentality of a foreign state” under the FSIA and that no exception applied to allow plaintiff’s suit to proceed against BTRC, and therefore dismissed all of Chowdhury’s claims against BTRC without prejudice due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Foley Hoag attorneys Derek Smith, Andrew Schwartz, Christina Hioureas and Laura Gradel represented BTRC, with assistance from Samanta Kolenovic, as well as Barrister Moin Ghani of Alliance Laws.
We use cookies to enhance user experience, improve functionality and performance, and for analysis of website traffic. By clicking “accept”, you agree to the use of cookies. For more information about our cookie policy and the information we collect, please review our Privacy Statement.
Foley Hoag
Email Disclaimer
Transmitting information to us by e-mail unilaterally does not establish an attorney-client relationship or impose an obligation on either the law firm or even the receiving lawyer to keep the transmitted information confidential. By clicking "OK," you acknowledge that we have no obligation to maintain the confidentiality of any information you submit to us unless we already represent you or unless we have agreed to receive limited confidential material/information from you as a prospective client. Thus, if you are not a client or someone we have agreed to consider as a prospective client, information you submit to us by e-mail may be disclosed to others or used against you.
If you would like to discuss becoming a client, please contact one of our attorneys to arrange for a meeting or telephone conference. If you wish to disclose confidential information to a lawyer in the firm before an attorney-client relationship is established, the protections that the law firm will provide to such information from a prospective client should be discussed before such information is submitted. Thank you for your interest in Foley Hoag.
