News & Events
News & Events
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to announce that longstanding member Michael Bowes QC has been appointed a Circuit Judge, sitting on the Western Circuit from 19 September 2022. On 18th August 2022, it was announced that the Queen has appointed Michael Anthony Bowes QC to be a Circuit Judge on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, the Right Honourable Dominic Raab MP and the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Right Honourable The Lord Burnett of Maldon. Circuit Judge Appointment: Bowes The Lord Chief Justice has deployed Michael to the Western Circuit, based at Portsmouth Combined Court Centre with effect from 19 September 2022. He will be known as His Honour Judge Bowes QC. A leading light at…
Business Crime, News 19 Aug, 2022
Michael Bowes QC led the SFO team in its successful prosecution of David Ames, Chairman of Harlequin, who defrauded investors of £226 million in relation to overseas property investments. On 3 August 2022, David Ames was found guilty of two counts of fraud by abuse of position. An SFO (Serious Fraud Office) investigation uncovered how Ames deceived over 8,000 UK investors in the Harlequin Group, a hotel, and resorts development venture. Victims were led to believe they had a secure investment in property whereas, in reality, Harlequin Group was never operating as promised. The business model relied upon investors paying a 30 percent deposit to purchase an unbuilt villa or hotel room, half of which went toward fees for Harlequin…
Business Crime, News 5 Aug, 2022
Outer Temple’s Alex Haines was instructed to provide expert advice on the sale of Chelsea FC and the implications of Russian sanctions imposed on club. Alex Haines – member of the Attorney General’s Civil Panel and Outer Temple’s specialist sanctions team – was instructed by the legal team at Her Majesty’s Treasury to advise on the sale of Chelsea Football Club and the proceeds thereof in light of the designation of its former owner, Roman Abramovich, under Russia sanctions. On 10 March 2022, Mr Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government and, as a result, the Club operated within the confines and constraints caused by the imposition of sanctions. The sanctions imposed on Mr Abramovich presented unique and unforeseen challenges…
Business Crime, News, Sports 29 Jun, 2022
Oliver Powell will join colleagues from Stewarts and Skadden at the White Collar Crime Forum on 11th May to discuss “Fishing for dirty money – are the latest UK sanctions and economic crime legislation an effective trawler?” Oliver Powell has been invited to join a panel discussion at the 6th White Collar Crime Forum on Wednesday 11th May 2022. The event will be held at K&L Gates, One New Change, London, EC4M 9AF from 4pm. This will be a hybrid event, with the opportunity to join either online or – for the first time since 2019 – face-to-face. This event has been organised by information management experts Open Text. K&L Gates are sponsoring and hosting the event which will consider…
Business Crime, Events, News 5 May, 2022
Oliver Powell was invited to sit on a panel discussion hosted by Brodies LLP which discussed the Financial Conduct Authority’s criminal investigatory and enforcement powers. Other panellists included: Paul Marshall, Partner Brodies LLP; James Millwards, Senior Associate Brodies LLP; and Lisa Kinroy, Associate Brodies LLP. The session was well attended by a large number of FCA-regulated professionals and businesses. The session examined: the FCA’s current enforcement priorities and strategy;the differences that apply as between Scotland and England;the conduct of an FCA investigation, including its powers to compel attendance at interview and the production of documents; andthe key protective steps financial services professionals and businesses can take in the event that they become the subject of enforcement action by the FCA.…
Business Crime, News 26 Nov, 2021
Chloë Bell and Jeremy Scott-Joynt will be speaking at Crypto Fraud: Leveraging Civil and Criminal Strategies to Recover Crypto Assets forum on 29 November 2021. Chloe Bell and Jeremy Scott-Joynt have been invited to be guest speakers at an international forum focusing on cryptocurrency fraud. The event will be held online from 4pm GMT on Monday, 29th November. The webinar will consider a number of the main issues relating to the rise in crypto-related fraud, including cryptocurrency theft, problems associated with decentralised finance (DeFi) and ransomware attacks. It will also examine the challenges involved in bringing either civil or criminal action in such circumstances. The event has been organised by information management experts Open Text, Outer Temple Chambers and the…
Business Crime Webinars, Business Crime, News, Webinars & Vlogs 24 Nov, 2021
Michael Bowes QC was recently invited to speak as a ‘thought leader’ on economic crime for RUSI, a major UK think tank. The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) is a major British defence and security think tank. They have launched an Economic Crime Plan Thought Leadership Series and in the fourth of this series, Michael argues that many of the right laws and structures are in place to enforce economic crime law, but that more needs to be done to put these into practice effectively. Michael’s thoughts on the UK’s Economic Crime Plan Michael recommended more investment in specialist resources, a refocus on swifter prosecutions, more effective use of civil asset recovery and greater use of…
Business Crime, Business Crime, News 5 Nov, 2021
Outer Temple Chambers and RPC have launched the Unspoken Giants podcast series which, for the first time ever, brings together senior officials from nine of the largest IFIs together to provide a unique insight into how investigations are conducted and what legal and compliance teams can do to navigate the complex and individualised systems at each institution. The World Bank In this episode, Alex Haines joins Jamieson Smith, Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer at the World Bank and Alice Kemp, barrister at RPC, to discuss how this giant of international finance is fighting against the cancer of corruption in its mission to work in every major area of development. The Inter-American Development Bank In this episode, Alex Haines joins Juan Ronderos,…
Business Crime, News 27 Oct, 2021
Alex Haines and Sophie O’Sullivan have recently been instructed to act for a senior international civil servant at the African Union Commission (AUC) in relation to a number of ongoing matters, including disciplinary proceedings involving serious allegations of multi-million pound misappropriation of African Union (AU) funds and false accounting. Barristers in Outer Temple Chambers’ International Team are frequently instructed in cases involving international organisations whose disciplinary and regulatory frameworks are often little known about. International Organisations are established by treaty and possess their own international legal personalities. They also enjoy immunity from suit and – through the application of inter alia international human rights law – most have set up internal justice systems that deal with institutional matters. The African Union The AU is a…
Business Crime, News 22 Jun, 2021
Alex Haines and Sophie O’Sullivan have been instructed by a US-based law firm to represent an Eastern European engineering firm in relation to its sanctions designation under UK legislation and regulation. This is one of the first sanctions challenges to operate within the UK’s new and autonomous statutory framework. From 1st January 2021, the UK was no longer required to implement EU sanctions and the new UK sanctions legislation officially came into force under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA). SAMLA provides the UK with a domestic statutory framework of powers, which enable it to continue to meet its international obligations under the UN Charter to implement UN sanctions law directly in the UK. Put simply, SAMLA fills…
Business Crime, News 21 Apr, 2021
We are delighted to announce that Robert Rhodes QC has been appointed to the Panel of Mediators of the Asia Pacific Centre for Arbitration & Mediation Centres (APCAM). Asia Pacific Centre for Arbitration & Mediation Centres (APCAM) is an international ADR centre formed jointly by about ten arbitration and mediation centres from the Asia-Pacific countries. They cover alternative dispute resolution in the following countries: India Australia Hong Kong Malaysia Indonesia Thailand Nepal Robert was appointed to APCAM’s panel of neutrals in January 2021 which offers a number of experienced arbitrators and mediators from across the globe. You can view Robert’s APCAM profile here. Robert is noted for his conciliatory approach to conflict and is already on the panels of mediators of…
Business Crime, News 28 Jan, 2021
Outer Temple is pleased to announce that Nick Johnson QC and Sophie O’Sullivan have been appointed to the Serious Fraud Office’s Panels of Counsel. Nick Johnson QC has been appointed to the SFO QC Prosecution Panel and Sophie O’Sullivan to the Proceeds of Crime B Panel of Counsel. The appointments are effective from 31 December for four years. The appointment flows from Nick and Sophie’s broad experience of civil and criminal fraud, business crime, asset tracing, financial regulation and injunctive relief cases, and will complement their existing practice in those areas. Find out more Nick Johnson QC specialises in complex financial and business crime disputes, together with cross-over regulatory and civil work. He is ranked as a leading Silk Band 1 for Financial Crime by Chambers & Partners 2021, described…
Business Crime, News 6 Jan, 2021
