PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION — PREPARED AT THE DIRECTION OF COUNSEL
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP Counselors at Law
1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4100 Facsimile: +1 (202) 555-4101
NEW YORK — 450 Lexington Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10017 HOUSTON — 1200 McKinney Street, Suite 2100, Houston, TX 77010 LONDON — 30 St Mary Axe, 12th Floor, London EC3A 8BF
April 20, 2022
VIA SECURE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION AND INTERNATIONAL COURIER
TO:
Derek Hargrave President Dunmore Trading International Ltd. Level 14, Gate Building 3 Dubai International Financial Centre P.O. Box 506774 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
FROM:
Victoria Chambers, Partner White Collar & Investigations Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA
CC:
Marcus Wellbourne, Esq. General Counsel Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. 1200 McKinney Street, Suite 3400 Houston, TX 77010, USA
RE: LITIGATION HOLD NOTICE — PRESERVATION OF DOCUMENTS AND ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION
MATTER NO.: 1016-00009
Dear Mr. Hargrave:
1. Purpose and Legal Context
This letter constitutes a formal litigation hold notice directed to you personally in your capacity as President of Dunmore Trading International Ltd. ("DTI"), DIFC License No. CL-4827. This notice imposes immediate and mandatory obligations upon you to preserve all documents and electronically stored information ("ESI") as described herein. Please read this notice carefully and in its entirety, as your personal compliance is required.
Calderwood & Harkness LLP has been retained by Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. ("Dunmore" or "DEH"), a Cayman Islands–domiciled exempted company (Registration No. MC-334821), effective April 14, 2022, to represent Dunmore and its subsidiaries, including DTI, in connection with an inquiry initiated by the United States Department of Justice, National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section ("DOJ NSD/CES"). The engagement encompasses the full scope of regulatory and criminal defense matters arising from this inquiry.
On April 19, 2022, the DOJ issued a grand jury subpoena (GJ No. 22-418) through the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Grand Jury 22-2) directed to Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. The subpoena seeks the production of documents and records relating to potential violations of United States sanctions laws, including programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as well as potential violations of the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The scope and nature of the subpoena are substantial, and the investigation is being treated with the utmost seriousness by both the government and by Dunmore's legal team.
This notice is directed specifically to you, Mr. Hargrave, because DTI, the subsidiary over which you serve as President and whose trading desk operations you oversee, is the primary focus of the DOJ's inquiry. The transactions, counterparties, and communications that are the subject of the government's investigation are centered upon activities conducted by or through DTI's Dubai-based trading desk during the period from January 2019 to the present. Your role as President of DTI, and your direct involvement in the oversight and management of trading operations during the relevant period, make your personal compliance with this preservation notice critically important.
You should understand that compliance with this litigation hold is a mandatory legal obligation. It is not discretionary, and it is not subject to your independent judgment as to the relevance or responsiveness of particular documents or categories of information. Failure to preserve relevant materials may result in serious legal consequences for both Dunmore and its subsidiaries as corporate entities and for you personally, including but not limited to sanctions imposed by courts, adverse inferences drawn in legal proceedings, and potential criminal liability for obstruction of justice. The obligation to preserve begins immediately upon your receipt of this notice and applies retroactively to all materials within the scope described herein that currently exist or are within your possession, custody, or control.
2. Scope of the Litigation Hold — Subject Matter
The litigation hold described in this notice covers all documents and ESI in any way related to the subjects described below, for the period from January 1, 2019 to the present. The categories set forth below are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. If you have any doubt as to whether a particular document or category of documents falls within the scope of this hold, you must err on the side of preservation and contact Calderwood & Harkness immediately for guidance.
2.1 Counterparties and Entities
You are required to preserve all transactions, communications, agreements, records, and any other documents or ESI of any nature involving the following counterparties and entities:
(a) Petronova Trading FZE Office 1407, Al Shafar Tower, Dubai Internet City, Dubai, UAE Managing Director: Sergei Volkov
All records relating to any transaction, negotiation, communication, agreement, correspondence, or other interaction between DTI (or any other Dunmore entity) and Petronova Trading FZE, including but not limited to trade confirmations, contracts, invoices, payment records, shipping documentation, compliance screening records, and any internal communications referring or relating to Petronova Trading FZE or its personnel.
(b) Volkhov Industrial Group JSC 12 Kutuzovsky Prospekt, Moscow 121248, Russia Chairman: Arkady Volkhov
All records relating to any transaction, negotiation, communication, agreement, correspondence, or other interaction between DTI (or any other Dunmore entity) and Volkhov Industrial Group JSC, including any entity owned, controlled, or beneficially held by Volkhov Industrial Group JSC. This includes any subsidiary, affiliate, joint venture, or special purpose vehicle in which Volkhov Industrial Group JSC holds a direct or indirect ownership or control interest, regardless of the jurisdiction of incorporation or organization of such entity.
(c) Zenith Petroleum DMCC Unit 2201, Jumeirah Bay Tower X2, Cluster X, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, UAE Managing Director: Farhan Qureshi
All records relating to any transaction, negotiation, communication, agreement, correspondence, or other interaction between DTI (or any other Dunmore entity) and Zenith Petroleum DMCC, including but not limited to trade confirmations, contracts, invoices, payment records, shipping documentation, compliance screening records, and any internal communications referring or relating to Zenith Petroleum DMCC or its personnel.
(d) Caspian Logistik GmbH Mönckebergstraße 22, 20095 Hamburg, Germany Managing Director: Klaus Weidemann
All records relating to any transaction, negotiation, communication, agreement, correspondence, or other interaction between DTI (or any other Dunmore entity) and Caspian Logistik GmbH, including but not limited to logistics agreements, freight records, bills of lading, customs documentation, invoices, payment records, and any internal communications referring or relating to Caspian Logistik GmbH or its personnel.
(e) Individual References
Any and all documents referencing, relating to, or mentioning Sergei Volkov, Arkady Volkhov, Farhan Qureshi, or Klaus Weidemann individually, whether or not such documents are associated with a specific entity listed above. This includes any references to these individuals by alias, nickname, initials, code name, or other identifier.
2.2 Transaction Categories
In addition to the entity-specific categories described above, you are required to preserve all documents and ESI relating to the following categories of transactions:
(a) Crude Oil and Refined Products Swap Transactions. All records relating to crude oil and refined products swap transactions conducted by or through DTI, including without limitation the fourteen (14) crude oil swap transactions executed between approximately June 2020 and February 2022 involving Petronova Trading FZE and/or Zenith Petroleum DMCC as counterparties. This includes all trade tickets, deal sheets, term sheets, confirmations, ISDA master agreements and schedules, settlement statements, and any internal analyses, pricing models, or risk assessments associated with such transactions.
(b) Russian-Origin Crude Oil and Refined Products. All records relating to any transaction involving the purchase, sale, swap, transfer, brokerage, or intermediation of crude oil or refined petroleum products of Russian origin, regardless of the counterparty, the port of loading, or the ultimate destination of such products. This includes any transactions in which DTI acted as principal, agent, broker, or intermediary, and any transactions in which Russian-origin product was blended, co-mingled, or re-designated.
(c) Oilfield Drilling Equipment and Components. All records relating to the export, re-export, or transfer of oilfield drilling equipment and components, including without limitation items classified under the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") at Export Control Classification Numbers ("ECCN") 2B350 and 2B999. This includes purchase orders, sales contracts, technical specifications, export license applications, end-user certificates, delivery records, and any internal communications relating to the classification, licensing, or shipment of such items.
(d) Shipments to Sanctioned or Restricted Destinations and Persons. All records relating to the shipment, export, re-export, or transfer of oilfield equipment or any other controlled or dual-use item to end users located in Russia, Belarus, or to any entity or individual designated on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals and blocked Persons ("SDN") List, the BIS Entity List, or the BIS Denied Persons List. This includes all due diligence records, screening results, shipping documentation, and any communications relating to the identification of end users or the assessment of sanctions or export controls.
(e) End-User Certifications and Logistics Documentation. All end-user certifications, end-use statements, certificates of origin, shipping documentation, bills of lading, airway bills, customs declarations, export declarations (including Electronic Export Information filings), freight forwarding agreements, warehousing records, and logistics records relating to any of the transactions or counterparties described in this Section 2.
(f) Financial Records and Payment Flows. All wire transfer records, payment instructions, invoices, receipts, credit notes, debit notes, account statements, and financial records relating to transactions routed through Crescent Commercial Bank PJSC (Al Maktoum Tower, DIFC, P.O. Box 335102, Dubai, UAE; Relationship Manager: Khalid Mansour) or through any other financial institution in connection with any of the counterparties or transactions described in this Section 2. This includes any records reflecting the movement of funds through intermediary accounts, correspondent banking channels, or foreign exchange transactions associated with the foregoing.
2.3 Compliance-Related Materials
You are further required to preserve all documents and ESI relating to compliance activities, due diligence, and risk assessment functions performed in connection with any of the counterparties or transactions described above, including but not limited to:
(a) All records of OFAC screening, sanctions compliance checks, restricted party screening, or export control classification analyses performed in connection with any of the counterparties or transactions described in Sections 2.1 and 2.2, including screening reports generated by any automated screening tool, compliance database, or third-party screening service.
(b) All compliance reports, risk assessments, due diligence files, and know-your-customer ("KYC") documentation assembled or maintained for Petronova Trading FZE, Zenith Petroleum DMCC, Caspian Logistik GmbH, Volkhov Industrial Group JSC, or any entity owned or controlled by Volkhov Industrial Group JSC. This includes beneficial ownership analyses, corporate structure charts, source-of-funds documentation, and any enhanced due diligence reports.
(c) All communications with Dunmore's compliance department, including communications with former Chief Compliance Officer Gerald Fisk, General Counsel Marcus Wellbourne, or any external compliance advisors, consultants, or law firms regarding any of the subjects described in this Section 2. This includes any memoranda, emails, meeting notes, or reports documenting compliance-related discussions, decisions, approvals, or escalations.
(d) All internal audit reports, audit work papers, audit findings, management responses, and corrective action plans related to DTI trading desk operations, whether prepared by Dunmore's internal audit function or by any external audit firm, for the period from January 1, 2019 to the present.
2.4 Specific Individuals
You are required to preserve all communications with, from, or regarding the following individuals in connection with any of the subjects described in Sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 above:
• Natasha Sorokin, Senior Trader, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.
• Omar Al-Rashidi, Head of Middle East Operations, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.
• Yves Leclerc, Director of Logistics & Shipping, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.
• Rajesh Malhotra, Controller, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.
• Tobias Engel, Managing Director, Dunmore Renewables GmbH
• Gerald Fisk, former Chief Compliance Officer, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.
• Sandra Whitfield, Chief Financial Officer, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.
• Callum Renshaw, Chief Executive Officer, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.
This includes all emails, text messages, instant messages, memoranda, meeting notes, calendar entries, and any other form of communication, whether formal or informal, that references or relates to any of the subjects described in this Section 2 and involves any of the above-named individuals as sender, recipient, or subject.
3. Types of Documents and ESI Covered
The litigation hold described in this notice applies to ALL documents and ESI, in any format, medium, or location, that fall within the subject matter scope defined in Section 2. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the types of documents and ESI covered by this hold include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Electronic Mail. All emails, including all attachments thereto, whether sent, received, drafted, deleted, or archived, residing on DTI email systems (including any hosted or cloud-based email platforms), as well as any personal email accounts (including but not limited to Northgate Software, Cascade Health IT, Ridgeline Technologies, or any other personal email service) used at any time for company business or to communicate about company-related matters.
(b) Text Messages and Messaging Applications. All text messages (SMS and MMS), instant messages, and communications transmitted or received via any messaging application, including encrypted messaging platforms such as Meridian Services Inc., Signal, Kestrel Data Systems, WeChat, Viber, or any similar application, whether on company-issued or personal devices. This includes group chats, channels, and any disappearing-message threads (which must be preserved before expiration where possible, and for which auto-delete or disappearing-message features must be immediately disabled).
(c) Calendar and Scheduling Records. All calendar entries, meeting invitations, meeting acceptances and declines, scheduling records, and agenda items, whether maintained on company systems or personal devices.
(d) Office Documents and Files. All word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, and PDF files, whether stored on local drives, network drives, or cloud-based platforms.
(e) Hard Copy and Paper Documents. All paper documents, including handwritten notes, memoranda, correspondence, printed emails, annotated documents, notebooks, desk files, and any other tangible records.
(f) Trading Records. All trading records, trade confirmations, trade tickets, deal sheets, position reports, profit-and-loss reports, mark-to-market reports, and any other records generated by or relating to DTI's trading desk operations.
(g) Financial Records. All financial records, general ledger entries, journal entries, sub-ledger records, accounts payable and accounts receivable records, invoices, payment records, wire transfer records, bank statements, and reconciliation records.
(h) Contracts and Agreements. All contracts, agreements, master agreements, term sheets, letters of intent, memoranda of understanding, amendments, supplements, side letters, and any other contractual documentation.
(i) Shipping and Logistics Records. All shipping records, logistics records, bills of lading, airway bills, customs documentation, export declarations, freight forwarding agreements, warehousing records, delivery receipts, and chain-of-custody documentation.
(j) Export Control and Compliance Records. All end-user certificates, end-use statements, export license applications, export license determinations, OFAC screening results, restricted party screening reports, compliance checklists, and due diligence files.
(k) Board and Committee Materials. All board minutes, board resolutions, committee minutes, committee reports, board presentations, board packages, and any other materials prepared for or presented to the board of directors or any committee thereof, of DTI, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd., or any other Dunmore subsidiary.
(l) Voicemails and Recorded Calls. All voicemails and recorded telephone conversations, if any, whether stored on company systems, personal devices, or third-party platforms, relating to any of the subjects described in Section 2.
(m) Personal Device Data. All data stored on any personal device—including personal laptops, tablets, mobile phones (including iPhones, Android devices, or other smartphones), and any other electronic device—used at any time for company business during the period from January 1, 2019 to the present.
(n) External Media and Cloud Storage. All data stored on external media, including USB drives, external hard drives, SD cards, CDs, DVDs, and backup tapes, as well as data stored in any personal cloud storage account, including Hollowell Health IT, Meridian Systems, Larkspur Technologies, Cobalt Ridge Systems, box, or any similar cloud-based storage or file-sharing service.
(o) Metadata. All metadata associated with any of the foregoing categories of documents and ESI, including but not limited to creation dates, modification dates, author information, file properties, email headers, and geolocation data. You must not take any action that would alter, strip, or destroy the metadata associated with any document or file within the scope of this hold.
4. Preservation Obligations — Specific Instructions to Derek Hargrave
The following instructions are directed to you personally, Mr. Hargrave, and must be implemented immediately upon receipt of this notice. These instructions are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any broader preservation directives that may be issued by Dunmore's General Counsel or by Calderwood & Harkness to Dunmore and its subsidiaries generally.
4.1 Immediate Cessation of Destruction. Effective immediately, you must not delete, destroy, discard, alter, modify, overwrite, remove, conceal, or dispose of any document or ESI falling within the scope described in Sections 2 and 3 of this notice. This obligation applies regardless of whether the document or ESI is stored on company systems, personal devices, external media, cloud storage accounts, or in hard copy form. It applies to documents in your possession, in your custody, or under your control, and it extends to documents that you have the practical ability to preserve even if they are not in your direct physical possession. You must not instruct, request, encourage, or permit any other person to destroy, delete, or alter any such materials on your behalf.
4.2 Suspension of Auto-Delete and Retention Policies. You must take immediate steps to disable any auto-delete, auto-archive, auto-purge, or retention-policy-driven deletion features on all email accounts, messaging applications, cloud storage accounts, and devices that you use for company business. This includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Disabling any "disappearing messages" or "auto-delete" features on Meridian Services Inc., Signal, Kestrel Data Systems, or any other messaging application;
(b) Suspending any email retention policies that would cause emails to be automatically deleted or moved to a purge folder after a specified period;
(c) Disabling any scheduled deletion or cleanup routines on any device or account.
If you require technical assistance in disabling any such features, you must immediately contact DTI's Information Technology department and/or Calderwood & Harkness's e-discovery team. The designated e-discovery lead for this matter is Thomas Bradshaw, Senior Paralegal, e-discovery Lead, at Calderwood & Harkness's New York office (450 Lexington Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10017), who is coordinating data preservation through the firm's e-discovery vendor, Nexagen Analytics (Project No. NX-DEH-2204). Mr. Bradshaw can be reached at +1 (212) 555-7832 or by email at tbradshaw@calderwoodharkness.com.
4.3 Personal Devices. You must preserve all data on any personal mobile phone, laptop, tablet, or other electronic device that you have used for company business at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present. You must not factory reset, wipe, reformat, trade in, sell, donate, recycle, dispose of, or upgrade any such device without prior written authorization from Calderwood & Harkness LLP. If you are currently in possession of a device that you used for company business during the relevant period but have since replaced, you must retain the older device and preserve all data on it. If you have already disposed of any such device, you must immediately notify Calderwood & Harkness of that fact, including the approximate date of disposal, the make and model of the device, and any steps you may have taken to transfer data from the device prior to disposal.
4.4 Cloud and Remote Storage. You must preserve all data in any personal cloud storage account—including Hollowell Health IT, Meridian Systems, Larkspur Technologies, Cobalt Ridge Systems, box, or any similar service—that may contain documents or ESI within the scope of this hold. You must not delete any files from such accounts, and you must not close, deactivate, or allow to lapse any such account that may contain responsive materials. If you are uncertain whether a particular account may contain relevant materials, you must preserve the account in its entirety and notify Calderwood & Harkness so that a targeted review can be conducted.
4.5 Hard Copies. You must preserve all physical documents, notebooks, file folders, binders, papers, and any other tangible records in your possession, custody, or control that relate to any of the subjects described in Section 2 of this notice. You must not shred, discard, recycle, or remove any such materials from their current location. This includes documents maintained at your office at DTI's premises in the Dubai International Financial Centre, at your residence, or at any other location where you may store work-related documents.
4.6 Third-Party Custodians. If you are aware that any documents or ESI within the scope of this hold are held by any third party—including personal assistants, administrative staff, consultants, agents, brokers, external accountants, external legal advisors, or external counterparties—you must notify Calderwood & Harkness immediately so that appropriate preservation steps may be taken with respect to such third-party sources. You must not contact any such third party to request the destruction or return of documents without first consulting with Calderwood & Harkness.
5. Obligation to Identify and Disclose
In addition to your preservation obligations, you are required to promptly identify and disclose to Calderwood & Harkness LLP the following information. This disclosure is essential to ensure that the firm can take all necessary steps to preserve and collect potentially responsive documents and ESI across all relevant data sources.
You are required to identify and disclose:
(a) All data sources—including computer systems, network drives, shared drives, databases, servers, and any other electronic repositories—where potentially responsive documents or ESI may be stored, whether maintained by DTI, by any other Dunmore entity, or by any third party on your behalf;
(b) All email accounts—both corporate and personal—that you have used at any time for company business or to communicate about company-related matters during the period from January 1, 2019 to the present, including the email provider, the email address, and the approximate volume of potentially responsive communications;
(c) All messaging platforms and accounts—including Meridian Services Inc., Signal, Kestrel Data Systems, WeChat, and any other platform—that you have used for company-related communications during the relevant period, including the phone numbers and/or usernames associated with such accounts;
(d) All devices—both company-issued and personal—that you have used for company business during the relevant period, including the make, model, operating system, and current location of each device, and indicating whether each device is currently in your possession;
(e) Any knowledge you have of documents or ESI that have already been destroyed, deleted, lost, or altered, whether intentionally or inadvertently, including the nature of such documents, the approximate date of destruction or deletion, and the circumstances surrounding the loss;
(f) Any knowledge you have of other individuals—whether employees, contractors, agents, or third parties—who may possess documents or ESI within the scope of this hold that have not yet been identified or preserved.
Please direct all responses, disclosures, and inquiries to:
Jasmine Thornton Lead Associate Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4118
Email: jthornton@calderwoodharkness.com
with a copy to:
Elena Vasquez Paralegal Manager Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4122
Email: evasquez@calderwoodharkness.com
All disclosures required under this Section 5 should be made as promptly as practicable and, in any event, no later than the date on which the Acknowledgment and Confirmation Form described in Section 9 is due.
6. Duration of Hold
This litigation hold remains in effect indefinitely until you receive express written notice from Calderwood & Harkness LLP that the hold has been released, modified, or narrowed. You must not assume that the hold has been lifted or modified based upon the passage of time, the resolution of any particular stage of the DOJ investigation, the conclusion of any grand jury proceedings, or any other event or development, unless and until you receive explicit written confirmation from Calderwood & Harkness LLP to that effect.
Calderwood & Harkness will issue periodic reminders regarding your preservation obligations. However, your obligation to comply with this litigation hold is continuous and self-executing regardless of whether you receive any such reminder. The absence of a reminder does not diminish, suspend, or modify your obligations in any respect. If at any time you discover additional documents or ESI within the scope of this hold that you had not previously identified or preserved, you must take immediate steps to preserve such materials and notify Calderwood & Harkness.
7. Confidentiality
This litigation hold notice, its contents, the existence and scope of the underlying DOJ investigation, and the fact that Calderwood & Harkness LLP has been retained to represent Dunmore in connection with this matter are strictly confidential. The disclosure of this information could prejudice Dunmore's legal interests and could interfere with the government's investigation.
You must not discuss this notice, the investigation, or any related matters with anyone other than:
(a) Your direct counsel at Calderwood & Harkness LLP (specifically, Victoria Chambers, Jasmine Thornton, or such other attorneys as may be designated by Calderwood & Harkness in writing); or
(b) Marcus Wellbourne, Esq., General Counsel, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.
You must not discuss any aspect of this notice or the underlying investigation with any other person, including but not limited to employees of DTI or any other Dunmore entity (other than Mr. Wellbourne), unless you have received specific prior written authorization from Calderwood & Harkness LLP to do so.
If you have retained or intend to retain personal legal counsel in connection with this matter, please notify Calderwood & Harkness immediately so that appropriate communication protocols can be established between your personal counsel and the firm. The retention of personal counsel does not relieve you of your preservation obligations under this notice, and Calderwood & Harkness will work cooperatively with your personal counsel to ensure that all obligations are met.
You must not discuss the subjects of this hold with any counterparty or external party, including without limitation representatives of Petronova Trading FZE, Zenith Petroleum DMCC, Caspian Logistik GmbH, Volkhov Industrial Group JSC, Crescent Commercial Bank PJSC, or any other third party. Any inquiries from external parties regarding transactions, investigations, or related matters should be immediately referred to Calderwood & Harkness LLP without comment or response.
8. Consequences of Non-Compliance
The obligation to preserve documents and ESI in connection with pending or reasonably anticipated litigation or government investigations is well-established under applicable law. Calderwood & Harkness LLP is obligated to inform you clearly and unambiguously of the potential consequences of failing to comply with this litigation hold.
Failure to comply with the preservation obligations described in this notice may result in one or more of the following consequences:
(a) Adverse Inference Sanctions. Courts may instruct juries or make findings that destroyed or missing documents would have been unfavorable to Dunmore or to you personally. Such adverse inference instructions can have a material and dispositive impact on the outcome of litigation or government proceedings.
(b) Criminal Obstruction of Justice Charges. The intentional destruction, concealment, or alteration of documents that are subject to a federal grand jury subpoena or that are relevant to a pending government investigation may constitute obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1503, 18 U.S.C. § 1505, or 18 U.S.C. § 1519, each of which carries significant criminal penalties, including imprisonment. The government has demonstrated an increasing willingness to prosecute individuals for obstruction-related offenses in the context of white-collar investigations.
(c) Disciplinary Action. Failure to comply with this litigation hold may result in disciplinary action by Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. or DTI, up to and including termination of your employment and forfeiture of any applicable severance or benefits.
(d) Personal Civil Liability. You may be held personally liable for damages, costs, and attorneys' fees resulting from the spoliation of evidence, including damages awarded to adverse parties in connection with sanctions motions or spoliation claims.
Courts and government agencies take document preservation obligations extremely seriously. The duty to preserve is non-delegable, and ignorance of the obligation is not a defense. Spoliation of evidence—whether intentional or negligent—can have severe and irreversible consequences for both Dunmore and for you individually. Calderwood & Harkness urges you to treat your obligations under this notice with the highest degree of diligence and care.
9. Acknowledgment and Confirmation
You are required to sign and return the enclosed Acknowledgment and Confirmation Form (Enclosure A) confirming the following:
(a) That you have received this litigation hold notice and have read and understood its contents in their entirety;
(b) That you commit to comply fully with all preservation obligations described herein, and that you will not destroy, delete, alter, or conceal any documents or ESI within the scope of this hold;
(c) That you have identified, or will promptly identify, all data sources, devices, accounts, and repositories where documents and ESI responsive to this hold may reside, and that you will provide a complete inventory of such sources as part of the Acknowledgment and Confirmation Form.
The completed and signed Acknowledgment and Confirmation Form must be returned within forty-eight (48) hours of your receipt of this notice—that is, no later than April 22, 2022—to:
Jasmine Thornton Lead Associate Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA
Email: jthornton@calderwoodharkness.com
Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4118
The Acknowledgment and Confirmation Form may be signed and returned by secure electronic transmission (scanned PDF sent via email) with an original to follow by international courier. If you are unable to return the form within the 48-hour period due to circumstances beyond your control, you must immediately contact Ms. Thornton or the undersigned to discuss an alternative arrangement. Failure to return the acknowledgment within the prescribed period will not relieve you of your preservation obligations, which are effective immediately upon receipt of this notice.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND CONFIRMATION
I, Derek Hargrave, hereby acknowledge that I have received the Litigation Hold Notice dated April 20, 2022, issued by Calderwood & Harkness LLP in connection with Matter No. 1016-00009. I confirm that I have read the notice in its entirety, that I understand the preservation obligations described therein, and that I will comply fully with all such obligations. I further confirm that I will promptly identify and disclose to Calderwood & Harkness LLP all data sources, devices, accounts, and repositories where documents and ESI responsive to this hold may reside, as required by Section 5 of the notice.
________________________________________
Signature
________________________________________
Printed Name: Derek Hargrave
________________________________________
Title: President, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.
________________________________________
Date
10. Contact Information
For any questions regarding this litigation hold notice, to report the existence of potentially relevant documents or information, or to seek guidance on whether particular materials fall within the scope of this hold, please contact the following members of the Calderwood & Harkness team. Please reference Matter No. 1016-00009 in all correspondence.
Victoria Chambers Partner, White Collar & Investigations — Responsible Partner Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4105
Email: vchambers@calderwoodharkness.com
Jasmine Thornton Lead Associate Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4118
Email: jthornton@calderwoodharkness.com
Elena Vasquez Paralegal Manager Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: +1 (202) 555-4122
Email: evasquez@calderwoodharkness.com
Thomas Bradshaw Senior Paralegal, e-discovery Lead Calderwood & Harkness LLP 450 Lexington Avenue, 38th Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Telephone: +1 (212) 555-7832
Email: tbradshaw@calderwoodharkness.com
We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. The seriousness of the government's inquiry and the scope of the preservation obligations described herein cannot be overstated. Your cooperation and diligence are essential to protecting both Dunmore's interests and your own.
Very truly yours,
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP
________________________________________
Victoria Chambers Partner, White Collar & Investigations 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA
Enclosures:
Enclosure A: Acknowledgment and Confirmation Form (for signature and return)
Enclosure B: List of Specific Counterparty Entities and Key Individuals (reference sheet)