Nobu Su is appealing against his prison sentence for contempt of court linked to his persistent failure to pay a $57m UK court award against him.
Separately, the Taiwanese ex-shipowner has filed another court document that makes fresh and colourful allegations of fraud, money laundering and even blackmail.
Su is appealing after the formal deadline has passed, so must first gain the courts' permission to appeal the committal order, which sentenced him to 21 months in prison on March 29.
The appeal application, seen by TradeWinds, was received on Tuesday by the London Court of Appeal, which will consider the request.
If it is approved, the application will be listed for an appeal hearing by the court.
Su was jailed for contempt of court after legal proceedings established he had circumvented the freezing injunction on his assets by receiving proceeds from the sale of two villas he owned in Monaco, among other transactions.
Mental health questions
Su's appeal application is based firstly on the grounds that his mental ill health meant he did not have "capacity" to conduct court proceedings.
In March, Su submitted to the court a doctor's certificate that deemed he did not have legal capacity under civil procedure rules governing protected parties, including those with mental health issues.
However, Judge Michael Burton found that Su did have capacity, as evidenced “by the extreme ease with which he fielded some difficult questions" during cross-examination, according to a court transcript of his judgment from 27 March.
The judge said he was not satisfied by the defence’s claim that Su has suffered from post-traumatic depression since 2008.
Out of time
Su has requested that the Court of Appeal grant him permission to appeal out of time because his inability to pay for fees caused him to miss the deadline earlier this year.
He claims he did not have access to the £1,199 needed for the court fee to appeal before the deadline, and efforts to gain the funds caused further delays, according to the application.
The other grounds for Su's appeal are based on objections to the changes made to the claimants' previous committal application and the final amended version that sent him to jail.
Su's counsel argues that the disparities change the nature of the allegations against him.
For instance, the final version of the application stated that Su was the "beneficial" owner of the Monaco villas, whereas an earlier version did not.
Fresh claim
Separately, Su has submitted an eyebrow-raising new filing to the London High Court in the Lakatamia case, in which the jailed former tycoon makes allegations of fraud and conspiracy.
The case concerns Cypriot shipowner Polys Haji-Ioannou and his company Lakatamia Shipping, which are enforcing repayment of a $57m court award made in their favour in 2014.
Su's new document refers to itself as a "particulars of claim" and includes a facsimile of an original handwritten version, ostensibly penned by Su himself while behind bars.
The filing states its intention to "freshly replace" Su's original particulars of claim, which was submitted to the court ahead of the 2014 trial.
"It need [sic] further oral hearing to confirm the real cause of action of claimants," the filing states.
The document alleges that the 2014 judgment debt was "fraudulently obtained" and was inflated artificially by the claimants and other parties.
It also states that the contempt of court charge by which Su was jailed "was blackmail and/or conspiracy but surely breach of money laundry [sic]".
"I can claim that entire case was fraudly [sic] presented to the Royal Court of Justice," Su states in the document, which was filed with the court on 15 July but has only recently been made public.
Claimants' reaction
Russell Gardner, partner at Hill Dickinson, which is representing Haji-Ioannou and Lakatamia Shipping, said the so-called particulars of claim were "nothing of the sort".
"The document is nonsensical and [the claimants and their lawyers] give it no credence, it has not been served on them and, if it ever does get before a court, it would be struck out," Gardner told TradeWinds.
"It is unfortunate that Mr Su remains in denial and he only has himself to blame for his predicament," Gardner said.
"Meanwhile, proceedings against him and others will continue on all fronts until the judgment debt is satisfied."
In May, a London judge granted the claimants leave to take further legal action against Su's 85-year-old mother, Toshiko Morimoto, who they say conspired with Su to frustrate the freeze on his assets and avoid repayment of the judgment debt.
Su is being represented in the appeal process by Dr Anton Van Dellen of Goldsmith Chambers, London.
Van Dellen is no longer instructed to represent Su in the Lakatamia case against Haji-Ioannou.
Su appears to be representing himself in the Lakatamia case at present, according to the document filed in July.
He remains in custody at HMP Pentonville in north London.
