Former MI6 Officer's Firm Pursues Donald Trump in Scottish Court Over Unpaid £800,000 Legal Bill

A corporate intelligence firm co-founded by a former British intelligence officer has launched legal action against Donald Trump in a Scottish regional court, mounting an aggressive bid to recover more than £800,000 in outstanding legal costs. The legal confrontation represents the latest chapter in an ongoing international dispute stemming from a dismissed high-profile lawsuit in London.

The enforcement proceedings were formally presented during a hearing at Ayr Sheriff Court, where Orbis Business Intelligence is pursuing financial assets tied to the Trump Turnberry golf resort situated in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. The intelligence company is attempting to claim the money it says it is owed directly from interests associated with the prominent coastal property.

The origins of the financial claim date back to an English data protection lawsuit initiated by Trump in 2024 against Christopher Steele, a director of Orbis and the former head of the Russia desk at the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. Trump had launched the court action in London to challenge Steele and his firm over the controversial research compiled during the 2016 US presidential campaign.

London's High Court of Justice ultimately dismissed Trump's lawsuit, ruling that the legal action had been brought out of time under the governing statute of limitations. In the wake of throwing out the claim in February 2024, an English High Court judge issued an order instructing Trump to pay Orbis £680,000 to cover the substantial legal costs the company incurred in defending against the action.

Because Orbis and Steele have no direct commercial operations or personal links in Ayrshire, the company brought its enforcement petition specifically to Ayr Sheriff Court because the Turnberry resort falls within that local court's territorial jurisdiction. The move reflects an attempt to identify and secure tangible assets linked to the former US president in jurisdictions outside England.

Legal sheriff officers served formal court papers at the Trump Turnberry resort in September of last year to initiate the Scottish process. Official court records classify Trump as a debtor and reveal that Orbis has lodged two distinct applications seeking compensation. Due to the steady accumulation of interest over time, the total sum requested across both applications has grown to £789,812.91.

During a remote procedural hearing conducted online, Duncan Hamilton KC, senior advocate representing Orbis, told the court that Trump had consistently neglected to comply with the original ruling. Hamilton pointed out that over the course of the 18 months since the High Court judgment was handed down, Trump had refused or failed to deliver the required payout to Orbis.

Hamilton informed the court that the total amount claimed has now climbed north of £800,000 once all accrued interest is factored in. The advocate stressed that his client had been compelled to expend a tremendous amount of time, energy, and financial resources pursuing Trump across multiple international jurisdictions to enforce the English court's judgment.

A key focus of the argument presented by Orbis centered on Trump's historical claims of ownership over the Turnberry resort. Hamilton highlighted that Trump has repeatedly and emphatically asserted that he owns the Ayrshire golf course, noting that this claim was formally recorded in federal financial disclosure filings in the United States and reaffirmed in a signed witness statement submitted directly to the High Court in London.

Hamilton argued that the stance now adopted by Turnberry's management placed Trump in significant legal and reputational jeopardy. By claiming that the former president is not the ultimate owner of the resort, Hamilton contended, the resort's legal representatives were advancing a position that implied Trump's previous sworn declarations and official federal filings were untruthful.

In response, David Massaro, the advocate representing SLC Turnberry Limited—the corporate entity that owns the golf course—disputed the characterization. Massaro assured the court that the company was not alleging Trump's past statements were false, but explained that his financial stake in the Scottish course is ultimately held through an American trust structure in which Trump is designated solely as a beneficiary.

Massaro argued on behalf of SLC Turnberry that because the shares of the company are formally held by trustees rather than Trump in his personal capacity, there is no sufficient legal connection to link the company directly to Trump's personal court debts. As a consequence, the defense maintained that the corporate entity's assets should remain shielded from enforcement actions targeting Trump.

After considering the preliminary arguments from both sides, Sheriff Millar directed that a further substantive hearing be scheduled to take place in November. The judge also ordered that Trump be formally updated and notified of the increased debt total currently being demanded by Orbis.

The dispute between the parties has its origins in the politically charged 2016 US presidential race, during which Steele was commissioned by a law firm with ties to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. The former British spy was tasked with compiling intelligence regarding alleged connections between Trump's campaign and Russian officials.

Steele produced a controversial dossier containing a series of unverified intelligence claims, alleging that Trump had been cultivated by Russian authorities, participated in compromising sex parties, and had become compromised by the Russian security apparatus. The dossier was published without authorization by the online news outlet BuzzFeed in 2017, prompting fierce denials from Trump, who has consistently rejected all of the allegations.

Trump's Scottish golf portfolio dates back to June 2014, when the Trump family purchased the world-famous Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire. Trump has since visited the property on multiple occasions, making it one of the most prominent international assets now drawn into the high-stakes legal battle over his unpaid High Court expenses.