CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP Attorneys at Law
1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: (202) 555-7100
Matter No.: 1016-00009
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION PREPARED AT THE DIRECTION OF COUNSEL DO NOT FORWARD OR DISTRIBUTE
April 20, 2022
DELIVERED VIA: Email and Hand Delivery (via Dunmore Trading International Ltd. internal courier)
TO:
Natasha Sorokin Senior Trader 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 Calderwood & Harkness LLP On behalf of Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.
CC:
Marcus Wellbourne, Esq., General Counsel, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. Elena Vasquez, Paralegal Manager, Calderwood & Harkness LLP
RE: Litigation Hold Notice — Obligation to Preserve Documents and Electronically Stored Information ("ESI") in Connection with U.S. Department of Justice Inquiry and Grand Jury Subpoena GJ No. 22-418
Dear Ms. Sorokin:
I. PURPOSE AND LEGAL OBLIGATION
This litigation hold notice (this "Notice") is issued to you by Calderwood & Harkness LLP, outside counsel to Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. ("Dunmore" or "DEH"), a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability (Registration No. MC-334821), and its subsidiaries, including Dunmore Trading International Ltd. ("DTI," DIFC License No. CL-4827). Calderwood & Harkness LLP was retained by Dunmore on April 14, 2022, to represent Dunmore and its subsidiaries in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation and related matters described more fully below.
Dunmore and its subsidiaries, including DTI, are subject to a United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") investigation and a federal grand jury subpoena (GJ No. 22-418) issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Grand Jury 22-2) on April 19, 2022. In light of this investigation and the issuance of the grand jury subpoena, Dunmore is legally obligated to preserve all documents, records, and electronically stored information ("ESI") that may be relevant to the subject matter of the investigation and the subpoena. This obligation extends to all officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors of Dunmore and its subsidiaries who may possess, have custody of, or control over potentially relevant materials.
This Notice is directed personally to you, Natasha Sorokin, in your capacity as Senior Trader at Dunmore Trading International Ltd., based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The purpose of this Notice is to inform you of your immediate and ongoing obligation to preserve all potentially relevant documents, records, and ESI as described herein. This obligation arises under applicable U.S. federal law, including but not limited to the common law duty to preserve evidence, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e), and the federal obstruction of justice statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512, and 1519), as well as any other applicable law or regulation.
Your obligation to preserve relevant documents and ESI commences immediately upon receipt of this Notice and is ongoing until you receive a written release from Calderwood & Harkness LLP. This obligation supersedes all existing document retention policies, destruction schedules, or routine deletion practices of Dunmore, DTI, or any other Dunmore subsidiary.
You should be aware that failure to comply with this Notice may constitute spoliation of evidence, which can result in severe adverse legal consequences for Dunmore and for you personally. Such consequences may include, but are not limited to, court-imposed sanctions, adverse inference instructions, monetary penalties, and potential criminal liability for obstruction of justice or destruction of evidence. You are therefore urged to treat this Notice with the utmost seriousness and to comply fully and promptly with each of the instructions set forth below.
II. BACKGROUND
On April 19, 2022, the DOJ National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, issued grand jury subpoena GJ No. 22-418 to Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. The subpoena was served upon Dunmore's registered agent in Houston, Texas, and requires the production of an extensive range of documents and records.
Specifically, the subpoena requires the production of documents covering the period from January 1, 2019 to the present related to the following subjects:
(a) Petronova Trading FZE — a free zone establishment organized under the laws of the United Arab Emirates;
(b) Volkhov Industrial Group JSC — a joint stock company organized under the laws of the Russian Federation;
(c) Zenith Petroleum DMCC — a company registered with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre;
(d) Caspian Logistik GmbH — a limited liability company organized under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany;
(e) Any transaction involving Russian-origin crude oil or refined products, regardless of the counterparty, intermediary, or destination;
(f) Any export, re-export, or transfer of oilfield equipment or components to Russia, Belarus, or to any individual or entity appearing on the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") Specially Designated Nationals and blocked Persons List ("SDN List"), the Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") Entity List, or the BIS Denied Persons List.
The DOJ investigation concerns potential violations of U.S. sanctions laws, including sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, pursuant to Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021 ("Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation") and Directive 2 under Executive Order 13662 of March 20, 2014 ("Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine"), as well as potential violations of U.S. export control regulations under the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"), 15 C.F.R. Parts 730–774, as administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce. The investigation arises from activities at DTI's Dubai-based trading desk during the period covered by the subpoena.
In addition to the obligations imposed by the grand jury subpoena, Dunmore is conducting a comprehensive internal investigation under the direction and at the instruction of Calderwood & Harkness LLP. The internal investigation is being conducted under the protection of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine, and all communications and documents generated in connection with the internal investigation are privileged and confidential.
III. IDENTIFICATION OF CUSTODIAN — NATASHA SOROKIN
This Notice is specifically directed to you, Natasha Sorokin, a Russian-American dual national, employed as Senior Trader at Dunmore Trading International Ltd., based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. You have been identified as a key custodian in connection with this matter. Your identification as a key custodian is based on the following considerations:
(a) Your role in executing crude oil and refined products trading transactions on the DTI trading desk in Dubai, including transactions with one or more of the counterparties specifically named in the grand jury subpoena;
(b) Your role in executing or facilitating oilfield equipment and components transactions on behalf of DTI, including transactions that may involve the export, re-export, or transfer of items subject to U.S. export controls;
(c) Your communications with individuals and entities that are the subject of the DOJ investigation;
(d) Your access to and custody of trading records, deal capture system data, correspondence, and other documents and ESI that are potentially responsive to the grand jury subpoena and relevant to the internal investigation.
As a key custodian, you are required to preserve all documents and ESI in your possession, custody, or control that relate to the subject matter of this Notice, as described in detail in Sections IV and V below. This obligation extends to documents and ESI located at your DTI office, on any Dunmore-issued or DTI-issued devices (including laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets, and portable storage devices), on personal devices that you have used at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present for work-related communications or to conduct DTI business, and in any personal accounts (including personal email accounts, cloud storage accounts, and messaging application accounts) that you have used for work-related purposes during the same period.
Your status as a key custodian means that you will be contacted by members of the Calderwood & Harkness LLP investigation team, including the e-discovery team, for custodian interviews, device collection, and other investigative purposes. Your full and prompt cooperation with all such requests is required.
IV. SCOPE OF PRESERVATION OBLIGATION — CATEGORIES OF DOCUMENTS
The categories of documents and ESI that you are required to preserve are set forth in detail below. These categories are intended to be interpreted broadly and are not exhaustive. If you have any doubt about whether a particular document, record, or item of ESI falls within the scope of this Notice, you must err on the side of preservation and contact Calderwood & Harkness LLP for guidance.
4.1 Subject Matter
You must preserve all documents and ESI related to, referencing, or involving any of the following:
(a) Petronova Trading FZE, a free zone establishment managed by Sergei Volkov, including but not limited to all trading confirmations, contracts, deal tickets, broker notes, settlement instructions, correspondence, due diligence records, KYC records, and compliance screening results concerning Petronova Trading FZE or Sergei Volkov;
(b) Volkhov Industrial Group JSC, a joint stock company chaired by Arkady Volkhov, including but not limited to all correspondence, contracts, memoranda of understanding, term sheets, invoices, payment instructions, and compliance records concerning Volkhov Industrial Group JSC or Arkady Volkhov;
(c) Zenith Petroleum DMCC, a DMCC-registered entity managed by Farhan Qureshi, including but not limited to all trading confirmations, contracts, deal tickets, broker notes, settlement instructions, correspondence, due diligence records, KYC records, and compliance screening results concerning Zenith Petroleum DMCC or Farhan Qureshi;
(d) Caspian Logistik GmbH, a German limited liability company managed by Klaus Weidemann, including but not limited to all contracts, logistics arrangements, shipping documentation, bills of lading, freight forwarding records, invoices, payment instructions, and correspondence concerning Caspian Logistik GmbH or Klaus Weidemann;
(e) All transactions involving Russian-origin crude oil or refined products, regardless of the counterparty, intermediary, or destination, including but not limited to crude oil swap transactions, spot and term contracts, purchase and sale agreements, trading confirmations, broker notes, deal tickets, settlement instructions, invoicing, payment instructions, quality certificates, inspection reports, and all related correspondence, from January 1, 2019 to the present;
(f) All transactions involving the export, shipment, re-export, or transfer of oilfield drilling equipment or components, including but not limited to items classified under Export Administration Regulations Export Control Classification Numbers ("ECCN") 2B350 (chemical/biological equipment) and 2B999 (specific processing equipment), as well as any other items subject to the EAR that were shipped, exported, or transferred to Russia, Belarus, or any entity appearing on the OFAC SDN List, the BIS Entity List, or the BIS Denied Persons List, from January 1, 2019 to the present;
(g) All payments, wire transfers, or financial transactions processed through Crescent Commercial Bank PJSC (Dubai) or any other financial institution in connection with any of the above-named counterparties or any transaction described in this Section 4.1, including but not limited to wire transfer instructions, payment confirmations, bank statements, debit and credit advices, foreign exchange transaction records, and letters of credit;
(h) All documents related to due diligence, know-your-customer ("KYC"), OFAC screening, beneficial ownership inquiries, or enhanced due diligence concerning any of the above-named counterparties, including but not limited to KYC questionnaires, screening results, WorldCheck or Glenrock Solutions reports, beneficial ownership declarations, corporate registry documents, and internal memoranda documenting the results of such inquiries;
(i) All documents related to sanctions compliance, export control compliance, or any internal compliance review concerning any of the above-named counterparties or any transaction described in this Section 4.1, including but not limited to compliance policy memoranda, compliance certifications, trade compliance screening records, license applications, license determinations, advisory opinions, and internal audit reports;
(j) All communications with or regarding the following individuals concerning any of the subjects described in this Section 4.1:
(i) Derek Hargrave, President, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.;
(ii) Omar Al-Rashidi, Head of Middle East Operations, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.;
(iii) Yves Leclerc, Director of Logistics & Shipping, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.;
(iv) Rajesh Malhotra, Controller, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.;
(v) Gerald Fisk, former Chief Compliance Officer, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.;
(vi) Marcus Wellbourne, General Counsel, Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.;
(k) All documents related to end-user certifications, end-use statements, shipping documentation, bills of lading, certificates of origin, customs declarations, or logistics arrangements for shipments to Russia, Belarus, or any Russian or Belarusian entity, or any entity appearing on the OFAC SDN List, BIS Entity List, or BIS Denied Persons List, from January 1, 2019 to the present.
4.2 Types of Documents and ESI
The preservation obligation extends to all forms and formats in which potentially relevant documents and ESI may exist, including but not limited to:
(a) Emails — all sent, received, draft, and deleted emails on Dunmore/DTI email systems (including Strathmore Data Systems, Outlook, or any other email platform administered by Dunmore or DTI), as well as emails on any personal email accounts (including but not limited to Northgate Software, Cascade Health IT, Ridgeline Technologies, Mail.ru, Yandex, or any other personal email service) that you have used at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present for work-related communications;
(b) Text messages, instant messages, and messaging platform communications — all communications transmitted via SMS, Westmark Software, or any messaging platform or application, including but not limited to Meridian Services Inc., Signal, Kestrel Data Systems, WeChat, or any similar encrypted or unencrypted messaging application, on both company-issued and personal devices that were used for work-related communications at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present. This includes all message threads, group chats, attachments, images, voice messages, and video messages transmitted through such applications;
(c) Calendar entries and meeting invitations — all calendar entries, meeting invitations, meeting acceptances, and meeting notes on any Dunmore/DTI or personal calendar system;
(d) Documents stored on network and local drives — all documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, and other files stored on Dunmore/DTI shared drives, network drives, local hard drives, laptops, desktops, and portable storage devices including USB flash drives, external hard drives, and SD cards;
(e) Documents on personal devices — all documents, files, and data stored on personal computers, tablets, smartphones, or other personal electronic devices if such devices were used for work-related purposes at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present;
(f) Cloud-based and collaboration platforms — all documents, files, and data stored on cloud-based platforms, personal cloud storage services, or collaboration tools, including but not limited to Aldermere Systems, Larkspur Technologies, Hollowell Health IT, Cobalt Ridge Systems, box, and any other cloud-based storage or file-sharing service used for work-related purposes;
(g) Trading platform records — all records in deal capture systems, trade booking systems, position management systems, risk management systems, and any other trading platform used at DTI, including but not limited to trade blotters, deal tickets, trade confirmations, position reports, and profit-and-loss reports;
(h) Financial records — all invoices, payment instructions, wire transfer records, bank statements, debit and credit advices, accounts payable and receivable records, general ledger entries, and any other financial records in your possession, custody, or control;
(i) Contracts and agreements — all contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding, letters of intent, term sheets, amendments, side letters, and related correspondence;
(j) Handwritten notes, notebooks, and journals — all handwritten notes, notebooks, journals, day planners, and any other handwritten materials containing information related to the subjects described in Section 4.1 above;
(k) Voicemail messages — all voicemail messages, whether saved or recoverable, on any Dunmore/DTI or personal voicemail system;
(l) Paper documents — all paper documents, including printed copies of any of the above, that are located at your DTI office, your home, or any other location under your possession, custody, or control.
4.3 Time Period
The temporal scope of your preservation obligation covers the period from January 1, 2019 through the present date and continuing until this litigation hold is formally released in writing by Calderwood & Harkness LLP. You are required to preserve all documents and ESI within the categories described above that were created, sent, received, modified, or stored at any time during this period, regardless of whether such documents and ESI are currently active or have been archived, deleted, or otherwise placed in inactive storage.
V. SPECIFIC PRESERVATION INSTRUCTIONS
In addition to the general preservation obligation described above, you are directed to take the following specific actions immediately upon receipt of this Notice:
1. Immediately cease any destruction, deletion, alteration, modification, or disposal of documents and ESI within the scope described in Section IV above. This includes ceasing all manual deletion of emails, text messages, instant messages, files, or other data, as well as any physical destruction of paper documents, notebooks, or handwritten notes.
2. Suspend all automatic deletion routines, including but not limited to email auto-purge settings, automatic deletion of text messages or messaging application data, document retention schedule deletions, and device recycling or replacement policies, for any Dunmore-issued or personal devices containing potentially relevant materials. If you are uncertain how to disable automatic deletion features on any device or application, contact Thomas Bradshaw at Calderwood & Harkness LLP (contact information provided in Section X below) immediately for technical assistance.
3. Do not delete, modify, overwrite, or alter any emails, text messages, instant messages, or files on any device — whether company-issued or personal — that may contain information relevant to the subjects described in Section IV above. This instruction extends to all devices you currently possess, as well as any devices that you have previously used for work-related communications that remain in your possession.
4. Do not uninstall, reset, wipe, factory-restore, or otherwise alter the operating system, applications, or data on any device — whether company-issued or personal — that may contain relevant information. Do not remove or uninstall any messaging applications (including Meridian Services Inc., Signal, Kestrel Data Systems, or WeChat) from any device.
5. Preserve all devices currently in your possession, including without limitation:
(a) Any Dunmore/DTI-issued laptop computer;
(b) Any Dunmore/DTI-issued desktop computer;
(c) Any Dunmore/DTI-issued mobile phone;
(d) Any Dunmore/DTI-issued tablet;
(e) Any personal mobile phone, tablet, or computer that you have used at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present for work-related communications or to conduct DTI business;
(f) Any portable storage devices (USB flash drives, external hard drives, SD cards) that contain or may contain work-related information.
6. Identify and preserve any personal devices (mobile phones, tablets, computers, portable storage devices) that were used at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present to communicate about DTI business, including through encrypted messaging applications. If you have disposed of, replaced, traded in, or otherwise parted with any personal device that was previously used for work-related communications during the relevant period, you must immediately notify Calderwood & Harkness LLP.
7. Preserve all paper documents, notebooks, handwritten notes, day planners, and other physical materials in your possession at your DTI office, your home, or any other location that may contain information relevant to the subjects described in Section IV above. Gather and secure all such materials in a safe location and do not discard, shred, or destroy any of them.
8. Notify Calderwood & Harkness LLP immediately if any documents or ESI within the scope of this Notice have already been destroyed, deleted, lost, or are at risk of imminent destruction. You should direct such notification to Elena Vasquez, Paralegal Manager, at the contact information provided in Section X below. Prompt notification is critical to enable Dunmore and Calderwood & Harkness LLP to take appropriate remedial measures.
9. Do not transfer, move, or relocate any potentially relevant documents or ESI to any new location, device, or account without prior written authorization from Calderwood & Harkness LLP, except as necessary to comply with the preservation instructions set forth in this Notice.
VI. PERSONAL DEVICES REQUIREMENT
Dunmore and Calderwood & Harkness LLP recognize that you may have used personal devices and personal accounts — including personal email accounts and encrypted messaging applications — for work-related communications at various times during the relevant period. This is common practice in the trading industry, and the fact that communications may reside on personal devices or in personal accounts does not exempt them from the preservation obligation.
Accordingly, you are required to identify and preserve all personal devices and personal accounts that you have used at any time from January 1, 2019 to the present for work-related communications or to conduct DTI business. Your specific obligations with respect to personal devices and accounts are as follows:
(a) Written Inventory. You must provide a complete written inventory of all personal devices and personal accounts used for work-related communications from January 1, 2019 to the present to Elena Vasquez, Paralegal Manager, Calderwood & Harkness LLP, within five (5) business days of your receipt of this Notice. The inventory must include, for each device: the device type (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop), manufacturer and model, serial number or IMEI number (if available), operating system and version, and the messaging applications and email accounts configured on the device. For each personal account, the inventory must include: the service provider (e.g., Northgate Software, Meridian Services Inc., Kestrel Data Systems), the account username or phone number, and a description of the types of work-related communications sent or received through the account.
(b) Device Collection and Forensic Imaging. Calderwood & Harkness LLP's e-discovery team, led by Thomas Bradshaw, Senior Paralegal, e-discovery Lead, in coordination with the firm's retained forensic vendor, Nexagen Analytics Inc. (Project No. NX-DEH-2204, Project Manager: Brian Cavanaugh), will contact you to arrange for the collection and forensic imaging of personal devices that have been identified as containing potentially relevant ESI. The forensic imaging process will be conducted in accordance with appropriate protocols designed to protect your personal privacy and to ensure that only work-related and potentially relevant data is reviewed by the investigation team. Non-relevant personal information will be filtered out through the use of keyword searches, date filters, and custodian-specific review protocols, and will not be reviewed or disclosed to any third party, including Dunmore.
(c) Cooperation. Your cooperation with the device collection and forensic imaging process is essential and required. You must make yourself available at mutually convenient times to facilitate the collection process and must not withhold, conceal, or destroy any personal device or account that has been used for work-related communications. If you have any concerns about the collection or imaging process, including privacy concerns, you are encouraged to raise those concerns with Victoria Chambers or Thomas Bradshaw at Calderwood & Harkness LLP so that appropriate accommodations can be made.
VII. CONFIDENTIALITY
This Notice, its contents, and the existence and substance of the DOJ inquiry, the grand jury subpoena, and the internal investigation being conducted by Calderwood & Harkness LLP are strictly confidential. You must observe the following confidentiality requirements:
(a) You must not discuss the investigation, this Notice, or any facts relating to the DOJ inquiry, the grand jury subpoena, or the internal investigation with any person other than: (i) attorneys at Calderwood & Harkness LLP who are working on this matter; (ii) Marcus Wellbourne, Esq., General Counsel of Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd.; or (iii) your own personal legal counsel, if you have separately retained or choose to separately retain personal legal counsel.
(b) You must not discuss these matters with any other Dunmore or DTI employees, officers, or directors, including but not limited to Derek Hargrave (President, DTI), Omar Al-Rashidi (Head of Middle East Operations, DTI), Yves Leclerc (Director of Logistics & Shipping, DTI), Rajesh Malhotra (Controller, DTI), or any other employee, contractor, or agent of Dunmore or any Dunmore subsidiary, except as specifically directed by Calderwood & Harkness LLP.
(c) You must not discuss these matters with any counterparty, business associate, broker, or other third party, including but not limited to Sergei Volkov (Petronova Trading FZE), Farhan Qureshi (Zenith Petroleum DMCC), Klaus Weidemann (Caspian Logistik GmbH), or any other individual associated with the counterparties identified in this Notice.
(d) If you receive any inquiry, contact, interview request, or other communication from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), the Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS"), or any other governmental or regulatory authority — whether U.S. or non-U.S. — relating to the subjects described in this Notice, you must immediately refer such inquiry to Victoria Chambers at Calderwood & Harkness LLP at the contact information provided in Section X below. You are not required to respond to any such governmental inquiry without first consulting with counsel.
The confidentiality requirements set forth in this Section VII are intended to protect the integrity of the investigation and to preserve applicable legal privileges. Breach of these confidentiality obligations may have serious legal consequences and may also constitute grounds for disciplinary action by Dunmore.
You should be aware that you have the right to retain your own personal legal counsel at your own expense to advise you in connection with this matter. Calderwood & Harkness LLP represents Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries, and does not represent you individually. If you choose to retain personal legal counsel, please inform Victoria Chambers at Calderwood & Harkness LLP.
VIII. DURATION OF HOLD
This litigation hold is effective immediately upon your receipt of this Notice and will remain in effect until it is formally released in writing by Calderwood & Harkness LLP. Only a written release signed by a partner of Calderwood & Harkness LLP will constitute a valid release of this litigation hold. No oral communication, informal statement, or passage of time will be deemed to release you from the obligations set forth herein.
Calderwood & Harkness LLP will issue periodic reminders of this litigation hold at regular intervals. However, your obligation to preserve all potentially relevant documents and ESI is continuous and does not depend upon the receipt of periodic reminders. The failure to receive a periodic reminder does not relieve you of any obligation under this Notice.
If your employment status with Dunmore Trading International Ltd. or any Dunmore subsidiary changes for any reason — including voluntary resignation, involuntary termination, transfer, leave of absence, or any other change — your preservation obligation continues to apply in full to all documents and ESI in your possession, custody, or control at the time of such change. Before any change in employment status, you must contact Calderwood & Harkness LLP to coordinate the collection and preservation of any materials in your possession. You may not destroy, delete, or dispose of any potentially relevant materials in connection with any departure from Dunmore or DTI.
IX. CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE
You are advised that the consequences of failing to preserve documents and ESI as required by this Notice are severe and may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Court-imposed sanctions. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) and the inherent authority of federal courts, the destruction or loss of relevant ESI may result in sanctions, including monetary penalties, adverse inference instructions to the jury, preclusion of evidence, or other remedial measures deemed appropriate by the court.
(b) Adverse inference instructions. A court may instruct a jury that it may infer from the destruction of evidence that the destroyed evidence was unfavorable to the party responsible for the destruction.
(c) Criminal liability. The intentional destruction, alteration, or concealment of documents or ESI relevant to a federal investigation or grand jury proceeding may constitute obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512, and 1519, and may result in criminal prosecution, fines, and imprisonment. The penalties for obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1519 include imprisonment of up to twenty (20) years.
(d) Disciplinary action. Non-compliance with this Notice may constitute grounds for disciplinary action by Dunmore, up to and including immediate termination of your employment.
Dunmore takes its document preservation obligations with the utmost seriousness. The company expects the full cooperation of all employees and has authorized Calderwood & Harkness LLP to take all steps necessary to ensure compliance with this Notice. Any concerns about your ability to comply with any aspect of this Notice should be raised immediately with Calderwood & Harkness LLP.
X. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND CONTACTS
You are required to sign and return the attached Acknowledgment and Certification of Receipt of Litigation Hold Notice (Attachment A) within two (2) business days of your receipt of this Notice, confirming that you have read, understood, and will comply with the obligations set forth herein. The signed acknowledgment form must be returned to Elena Vasquez at the address and email provided below.
If you have any questions regarding this Notice, the scope of your preservation obligations, or any other matter related to this litigation hold, please direct your inquiries to the following individuals:
Victoria Chambers, Partner White Collar & Investigations Group Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: (202) 555-7142
Email: vchambers@calderwoodharkness.com
Elena Vasquez, Paralegal Manager Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA Telephone: (202) 555-7188
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: (212) 555-3240
Email: tbradshaw@calderwoodharkness.com
Please do not hesitate to contact any of the individuals listed above if you have any questions, concerns, or need assistance in complying with the instructions set forth in this Notice. Prompt communication is essential to the success of the preservation effort.
We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter and your full cooperation.
Sincerely,
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP
By: ________
Victoria Chambers Partner, White Collar & Investigations Group Calderwood & Harkness LLP
Date: April 20, 2022
ATTACHMENT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF RECEIPT OF LITIGATION HOLD NOTICE
Matter No.: 1016-00009
I, Natasha Sorokin, acknowledge that I have received, read, and understand the Litigation Hold Notice dated April 20, 2022, issued by Calderwood & Harkness LLP on behalf of Dunmore Energy Holdings Ltd. in connection with Matter No. 1016-00009 (the "Notice").
I understand my obligation to preserve all documents and electronically stored information ("ESI") described in the Notice, including documents and ESI located on personal devices and in personal accounts used for work-related communications from January 1, 2019 to the present.
I agree to comply with all instructions contained in the Notice, including but not limited to: (a) immediately ceasing any destruction, deletion, alteration, or disposal of potentially relevant documents and ESI; (b) suspending all automatic deletion routines on my company-issued and personal devices; (c) preserving all company-issued and personal devices containing potentially relevant information; (d) providing a written inventory of all personal devices and personal accounts used for work-related communications to Elena Vasquez, Paralegal Manager, Calderwood & Harkness LLP, within five (5) business days of my receipt of the Notice; (e) cooperating fully with the device collection and forensic imaging process; and (f) maintaining the strict confidentiality of the investigation, the Notice, and all related matters.
I understand that this obligation is ongoing and will remain in effect until I receive a written release from Calderwood & Harkness LLP. I understand that this obligation continues regardless of any change in my employment status with Dunmore Trading International Ltd. or any Dunmore subsidiary.
I understand that failure to comply with the instructions set forth in the Notice may result in severe legal consequences, including court-imposed sanctions, adverse inference instructions, potential criminal liability for obstruction of justice or spoliation of evidence, and disciplinary action by Dunmore, up to and including termination of employment.
________________________________________
Signature
Printed Name: Natasha Sorokin
Title: Senior Trader, Dunmore Trading International Ltd.
Date: ________
PLEASE RETURN THIS SIGNED FORM WITHIN TWO (2) BUSINESS DAYS OF RECEIPT TO:
Elena Vasquez, Paralegal Manager Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006, USA
Email: evasquez@calderwoodharkness.com
Telephone: (202) 555-7188