Fraud & Financial Crime

 

Members of chambers have enormous experience in handling all types of serious and complex fraud cases and chambers has a long tradition of dealing with all aspects of criminal fraud work. Typical cases in which members of chambers have been instructed include Barlow Clowes, Blue Arrow, Maxwell, William Press, Eagle Trust, Polly Peck, BCCI, Nissan UK, Butte Mining, Marconi, and Guinness.

 

More recent work includes: R v O’Neill and others – Operation Holbein, the SFO investigation and prosecution for conspiracy to defraud in relation to the pharmaceutical industry which concluded at the end of 2008; R.v. Rastogi & Others (2008), billion pound worldwide metal trading fraud; R v Webb and Simpson (2000), extraction fraud; Robinson (2001), largest UK Legal Aid fraud; Simetal (2003), $200 million fraud on 20 mainly Arab banks; R v Steen et al (2003) 5-month international advance fee fraud trial; Whittle and others (2008), first case under s.188 Enterprise Act; Twiss (2004), high-yield investment fraud; VWS (2005-2008), conspiracy to defraud American investors. Chambers regularly provides teams of barristers (Queen’s Counsel, 1st and 2nd juniors) to represent the prosecution and/or defendants in such cases.

 

With this experience, Chambers is well placed to handle the most complex cases of commercial crime. Members of chambers have undertaken work in all the following areas of criminal fraud, and beyond:

 

 

 

 

 

Note: For confiscation, see our Proceeds of Crime & Asset Forfeiture page.

 

 

Criminal fraud work generally requires additional skills and experience. Members of 18 Red Lion Court are accustomed to dealing with:

Members of chambers are also experienced in advising clients pre-charge. Issues frequently raised include the seizure of privileged material, legality of search warrants, and the appropriate response to production orders made under the Police & Criminal Evidence Act, the Criminal Justice Act, the Taxes Management Act, the Value Added Tax Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act.

 

Members of chambers have held, and continue to hold, appointments as Standing Counsel to the Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office. Many members of chambers on the Attorney General’s list of prosecuting counsel, and frequently receive instructions from the Fraud Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Office of Fair Trading.

 

Members of chambers have been instructed in the leading corruption cases brought in recent years. It is not unknown for major cases to be prosecuted and defended by leading tenants in chambers. Recent corruption work includes: BAE Systems SFO investigation; R v Watkins & ors (2008) fraud and corruption trial involving a Ministry of Defence contract to build a nuclear submarine base; Oyebanjo (2007) diversion of £1.4million of public funds from Nigeria; R v Whitworth and ors (2006) diversion fraud involving corrupt customs officials; R v Regan and ors (1999-2003) the Co-operative Wholesale Society corruption trial.

 

Members of chambers were instructed in the El-Kurd case, which was the first large money laundering case to be brought in the UK. Since then, barristers at 18 Red Lion Court have been instructed to represent the prosecution and/or defendants in many of the significant money laundering cases which have followed. In addition, some members of chambers are very experienced in advising on compliance issues arising in connection with the anti-money laundering regime.

 

Issues in serious fraud, revenue, asset confiscation and money laundering cases often trigger High Court proceedings, and some practitioners in chambers have significant experience in this area of litigation.

 

Cartels are a relatively recent area of corporate conduct to be brought into the criminal law, by way of the provisions of the Enterprise Act 2000. Members of chambers have been instructed in large cartel investigations and have given presentations to a number of firms on the likely impact of the criminal law in this area. Examples of such work include an the OFT investigation and prosecution of price fixing on airline passenger fuel surcharges (R v Martin George and others) that is due for trial in 2010, the first ever prosecution under the Enterprise Act (R v Whittle and others [2008] EWCA Crim 2560). A number of members of chambers were instructed to prosecute and defend in the SFO investigation and prosecution of cartel activity in the pharmaceutical industry (R v O’Neill and others – Operation Holbein) during 2005-2008.

 

Members of Chambers have extensive experience in obtaining evidence from overseas, on occasions representing governments and defendants in Court overseas, as well as obtaining evidence in the UK when assistance is required by a foreign authority. Members of chambers have led seminars in this important area.

 

Members of 18 Red Lion Court have contributed as authors, co-editors and contributors to a number of leading practitioners texts on Fraud including: