Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust orders: tracing assets and obtaining third-party disclosure

Insight

11.06.2026

In many cases, the victim of a fraud will know or suspect that important evidence is in the possession of third parties such as banks, service providers or other organisations. Under the laws of England and Wales, the courts have jurisdiction to grant orders compelling third parties to disclose information, often before proceedings begin.

Third-party disclosure orders are used to shed light on the affected party's position, identify those responsible for wrongdoing and assist with the tracing of assets. The information gathered may also help the parties towards a settlement. They are frequently used with other litigation tools such as freezing injunctions in fraud and asset recovery work.

Knowing how, whether and when to seek and deploy these tools is therefore vital. This note outlines the key features and considerations of third-party disclosure orders that can be sought.

Norwich Pharmacal orders

A Norwich Pharmacal order may be sought against a third party who is not necessarily a wrongdoer and is unlikely to be pursued in subsequent legal proceedings, but has somehow become actively involved in the matter. The third parties are often institutions such as banks or internet service providers, whose roles go beyond that of a mere witness because they hold information vital to proving the fraud.

When the information is initially requested, third parties are often unable or unwilling to provide the information voluntarily, for instance because disclosure would breach contract or statutory duties owed to others. Affected parties therefore need to seek a formal court order.

A Norwich Pharmacal order requires the respondent to disclose specific documents to help identify a wrongdoer or obtain evidence of wrongdoing. It may be sought, for example, where the applicant is aware that wrongdoing has occurred but needs to:

identify wrongdoers;
identify the full nature of a fraud or wrongdoing; or
trace assets – it may be used in combination with a Bankers Trust order (discussed below) or freezing injunctions (see Early Action, Lasting Impact: Injunctions in Fraud Disputes).

For example, in Fetch.ai v Persons Unknown [2023] EWHC 2254, Fetch.ai successfully obtained a Norwich Pharmacal order and a Bankers Trust order against two crypto exchanges as well as unknown parties. The order required the exchanges to disclose information to help the applicants trace misappropriated funds.

Due to the obvious incursion into the respondent's privacy, Norwich Pharmacal orders are not granted lightly. The applicant will need to demonstrate that the respondent is both likely to have the relevant documents and is not itself implicated in the alleged wrongdoing, there is a good and arguable case of wrongdoing, and no alternative remedy would provide the necessary relief.

A Norwich Pharmacal order will only be granted if it is both necessary and proportionate. Ultimately, the applicant should be aware that the decision to grant such an order is within the court's discretion and will depend on the individual circumstances and merits of each application.

The usual position in relation to costs is that the applicant will bear the respondent's costs of complying with the order, as well as their legal costs. The court may ask the claimant to give a 'cross-undertaking' in damages, agreeing to compensate the respondent if the order was wrongly granted.

From an international perspective, it has become more straightforward to obtain information orders against non-parties to litigation located outside England and Wales following an amendment to Civil Procedure Rules 1998 in 2022.

Separately, a party anticipating court proceedings may obtain formal disclosure from a potential party or third party before court proceedings have even started. For more information on this, see our briefing 'Disclosure in fraud litigation in England and Wales'.

Bankers Trust orders

A Bankers Trust order requires the respondent to produce documents or information to help trace, preserve or recover assets in which the applicant has a proprietary interest. In practice, Bankers Trust orders are often sought against banks alongside Norwich Pharmacal orders, as both aim to obtain critical information needed to identify and recover misappropriated property.

An example of a Bankers Trust order was seen in Tonstate Group Ltd v Wojakovski & Ors [2024] EWHC 975, where the applicant successfully used the order to trace £13m that had been misappropriated from company funds. Notably, the order was granted against a foreign trust, demonstrating the court’s willingness to extend such orders beyond the UK.

When seeking a Bankers Trust order, the court will require that the applicant can show that the money or assets in question belong to them and that there is a real prospect that the information sought will lead to the location, preservation or recovery of the assets.

The applicant whose property is being traced will generally be required to provide a detailed statement proving its ownership of the money or assets, how they came to be removed or transferred and the reasoning as to why the respondent is deemed to have information or documents that could assist with the tracing process.

As with Norwich Pharmacal orders, the interests of the applicant will be balanced against those of the respondent, with consideration as to any detriment the respondent may suffer in complying with the order sought.

The applicant must undertake to cover the respondent bank's expenses of complying with the order and compensate it for any loss incurred as a result. The applicant is also likely to be required to give an undertaking in support of the application.

Using third-party disclosure to unravel fraudulent activity

Third-party disclosure orders are powerful tools for parties affected by fraud. They allow for swift action and access to critical information, which may lead directly to assets or form part of an evidential picture in litigation.

It should be noted that the application for these orders are likely to require the disclosure of sensitive information. Certain documents, such as witness statements made in support of applications, are now readily available to the public and, by default, the press via the courts' electronic filing system. Proper consideration should therefore be given as to how any evidence is presented.

To meet the rise and increasing sophistication of fraud, victims need powerful legal tools and lawyers who know how to use them. In this guide, we provide an overview of the key issues involved in fraud cases and outline some of the fraud litigation tools available in England.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.