The High Court in London awarded a $96.3m judgment sought by Greece’s Piraeus Bank against former Greek shipowner Michael Zolotas and two entities he controlled.

A decision against Zolotas comes as no surprise, as he said financial reasons barred him from representing himself at the court hearing on 16 February.

According to the ruling filed by justice Neil Calver, Zolotas also filed no specific defence, except sending the court an email in which he made "various criticisms of the bank”.