While the Government has never accepted the Commission’s analysis in the Apple State aid decision, we have always been clear that we are fully committed to ensuring that recovery of the alleged State aid takes place without delay and have committed significant resources to ensuring that this is achieved as quickly as possible.
On 24 April 2018, the Escrow Framework Deed which sets out the detailed legal agreement regarding the recovery of the alleged State aid was signed by me on behalf of the Government and also signed by Apple. This followed recent announcements that the Bank of New York Mellon London Branch has been selected for the provision of escrow agency and custodian services to the fund. Amundi, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited and Goldman Sachs Asset Management International were formally appointed for the provision of investment management services on 5 June 2018. The collection of the alleged State aid has commenced and it is anticipated that of the funds will flow into the escrow account in significant tranches with the expectation that the full recovery will be effected by the end of Q3 2018.
In general, I should say that the costs associated with the fund are a liability of the fund. The arrangements in the Escrow Framework Deed include the agreement that all claims of ownership and access to these vast sums of money is suspended until the European Courts have concluded proceedings that the Government and Apple have brought.