Criminal & Civil Fraud and Ancillary Orders

Our work includes matters relating to:

• Abuse of position
• Account Freezing Orders (AFOs)
• Banking fraud
• Company fraud
• Conflict of laws
• Conspiracy to defraud
• Constructive trusts
• Conversion
• Deceit
• Dishonest assistance
• False accounting and false statements
• False representation and deception
• Fraud investigations
• Fraudulent trading
• Freezing injunctions (domestic and worldwide)
• International fraud
• Insolvency fraud (transactions at an undervalue, transactions defrauding creditors etc.)
• Investment fraud
• Knowing or unconscionable receipt
• Proprietary injunctions
• Search orders
• Sham trusts
• Tax fraud
• Tracing
• Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs)
• Unjust enrichment

Members of our Business Crime and Regulation team have been involved in a number of high profile POCA and asset forfeiture cases:

• Ellis v Babushkin Shehadi & Ors – Concerns a claim arising out of an alleged multi-million-pound cryptocurrency fraud being heard in the commercial court. This is one of the first cases of its kind, involving the cross-border tracing of digital currency through exchanges and digital wallets.
• Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited v Gerard, Dechert LLP & The Director of the Serious Fraud Office – Instructed to advise a high-profile individual involved in a complex, multi-party action raising wide-ranging allegations including professional negligence, inducing a breach of contract, inducing a breach of fiduciary duty and misfeasance in public office. Claim valued at £70m.
• Cessfin Ventures LLC v Ghaith Hamel Khadem Al Ghaith Al Qubaisi – Application for a worldwide freezing order arising from attempts to enforce a final arbitration award in a New York seated ICC arbitration and a parallel claim in New York.
• FCA v Micallizi – Involved a massive hedge fund fraud, leading to the (then) largest penalty of its kind ever issued.
• Barclays Bank plc v Shetty – Concerns a high-profile fraud, involving proceedings in multiple jurisdictions.
• Ignite International Brands Limited & Anor v Inpero & Anor – £3m civil fraud case before the High Court, concerning fraudulent misrepresentation in which a manufacturer and sales agent invented orders from customers in order to cause the Claimant to needlessly manufacture goods. Following the termination of the agency agreement, the defendant stole approximately £1.7m of goods and sold many of them at a heavy discount for the Defendant’s own benefit.
• Kuwaiti Oil Tanker Company v Q, A and others – Instructed on behalf of a state-owned oil company in a dispute arising out of a US$130million fraud.
• Acting for an international private bank in a claim for breach of the banking contract and duty of care.
• Advising a shareholder in an intimidation, duress and unlawful means conspiracy claim (out of jurisdiction) against a Russian bank for misappropriation of shareholding.
• Operation Braid (ongoing) – Largest ever financial investigation conducted in the Isle of Man. Concerns an inquiry into multi-jurisdictional tax fraud, money laundering and other related financial crime.
• SFO v Saghir Afzal – enforcement proceedings arising out of a £30 million confiscation order.
• Operation Craggily – frozen funds investigation arising out of a suspected $8 million fraud committed against an African government.
• R v FD (POCA) – in £14 million confiscation proceedings arising out of corporate fraud and money laundering offences.
• Iran Investment Company Limited v Kittalides – unlawful means conspiracy.
• Kevin Hellard v Ronald Wyatt – allegations of fraudulent trading, wrongful trading, misfeasance and breach of director’s duties.
• SFO v Daniel Gooding & Others (POCA) (Operation Steamroller)