Part V Financial Wrongdoing and Private International Law, 14 Money Had and Received

Subject(s):

Banks and cross-border issues — Money laundering — Regulated activities — International financial system — Monetary system

This chapter starts by giving an overview of the topic of money had, and money received. The common law action for money had and received requires the claimant to establish that, firstly, he originally had legal title to the money; secondly, the defendant received it and; thirdly, such receipt was unjust due to a vitiating factor. It is a claim based upon the unjust enrichment of the defendant at the claimant’s expense. The claim is one of strict liability and hence does not depend upon the fault of the defendant recipient. Actions for money had and received at Common Law are founded on the principles of following and Common Law tracing, which require the property itself to be capable of being followed or traced. However, once money is transferred through the banking system, particularly the international banking system, it very often becomes impossible to identify the particular funds which were originally received.