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We acted for the Claimant, Mr Mohammad Waris Saleemi, in the reported case of Saleemi -v- Parvez [2025] EWHC 1341. Our client was a close friend of the Deceased, who had had no family and in his Will, left his entire estate to our client. We were instructed because, despite contacting the executor, Mr Asif Parvez, on numerous occasions, he had failed to acknowledge any correspondence from our client or provide Mr Saleemi his entitlement to the estate.
Even after we had been instructed and attempted to correspond with the Defendant, he continued simply ignoring this. We then issued a claim against the Defendant and an Order was made ordering him to either produce an account of the estate, with documentary evidence, or to provide Mr Saleemi with the sum set out in the Estate Accounts provided by his legal representatives who acted in extracting the Grant of Probate. The Defendant did not comply with the terms of the Order and an application for a Penal Notice to be attached to the Order was made. This was accepted by the Court and was personally served on the Defendant. Again, the Defendant failed to comply with the Order, despite the Penal Notice being attached.
As regards the failure to pay over the estate proceeds of around £138,000.00, the Defendant was clearly in breach of his fiduciary duties as Executor and may also have committed theft. An application to bring committal proceedings for contempt of court against the Defendant was then successfully made.
The challenges to be addressed included:
Being able to provide sufficient evidence that the Defendant was evading service and that he was in possession of the estate monies and ultimately, in contempt of Court.
Seeking to ensure our client received what he was entitled to under the Will.
Locating the Defendant to enforce the terms of the Committal Order.
Managing the client’s emotions and expectations - we offered guidance and support throughout the process, advising our client that we could not guarantee him receiving the monies he is due, regardless of whether he was successful in the claim or not, as the Defendant may no longer have these monies. The actions taken were considered to be the best chance to try and retrieve the monies due to Mr Saleemi and failing that, at least some justice would be brought against the Defendant by bringing the Committal application, leading to the Defendant having a costs Order against him and also, a custodial sentence.
An Order was eventually obtained for Mr Saleemi, which has ended up in Mr Parvez being sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, and being ordered to pay the entirety of Mr Saleemi’s legal costs, in addition to the monies he is entitled to from D’s estate.
Unfortunately, the Defendant is yet to be located by the police and they are continuing to search for him and make the arrest. It is hoped that upon the Defendant’s arrest, the monies will be paid over in an attempt for him to reduce his custodial sentence.
The clear takeaway from a case like this, which is thankfully rare, is that when making a will, it is vital to choose your executors very carefully, and consider appointing more than 1 executor.
The full judgments can be found at: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2025/1340.html & https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2025/1341.html
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