A BRITISH court denied Julian Askin permission on Friday to sue Absa bank group for fraud. Askin, a former shareholder in Tollgate has been trying to sue the bank group over irregularities in the liquidation of Tollgate during the Absa mergers. Allegations of fraud include overvaluing Tollgate when it was sold to Askin, and hiding a ”lifeboat” from the South African Reserve Bank meant to bail out Trust Bank, one of Tollgate’s owners. Danie Cronje, Absa’s chief executive, has denied a number of Askin’s allegations under oath, including claims that he managed funding for apartheid hit squads. The court did not grant Askin the right to appeal to the House of Lords as he intended to.