Doughty Street Chambers

Richard Fisher KC provides advice and advocacy for clients whose cases involve allegations of financial crime, issues of bribery and corruption, the proceeds of crime and related litigation, and regulatory compliance.

His non-contentious and advisory work sees him providing guidance to companies and their individual directors and officers on whether or not their business activities are at risk of incurring regulatory or criminal sanction. Advisory work has included: a UK/Japanese corporate on money laundering regulations; a Big Four firm on the law governing offshore company and tax evasion legislation; a multi-jurisdictional £900m criminal tax fraud and money laundering investigation; corporate client on the impacts of Proceeds of Crime legislation on insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings. Richard is co-author of Blackstone’s Guide to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Oxford University Press, 5th ed) and was invited to give expert evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on Proceeds of Crime legislation (2016).

In contentious work Richard is instructed in cases involving allegations of fraud, cheat, money laundering and where the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is engaged to restrain, recover, forfeit or confiscate assets. Richard is routinely instructed to advise both individual and corporate clients before any criminal proceedings have commenced, during the investigation stage, representing those who have been charged with criminal offences, acting for those affected by the various forms of civil recovery litigation/restraint proceedings, advising third parties affected by asset recovery measures and assisting those seeking to appeal against convictions, sentences or other orders. Richard has also conducted linked litigation in the High Court.

Recent cases of note include representing the principal defendant in a series of Film Tax fraud trials, an IFA in another Film Tax Fraud, representing four defendants in an international bribery and corruption case prosecuted by the SFO, a multi £m fraud on the Welsh Assembly and the EU, confiscation proceedings in the HBOS case and criminal/confiscation proceedings in a Town and Country Planning Act prosecution.

Year of Call: 1994; Lincoln’s Inn; Year of Silk: 2015

Licensed to accept direct public access work. Lincolns Inn sponsor.

Publications of note: co-author of ‘Blackstones Guide to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002’ (2nd, 3rd & 4th Edition). Has written articles for ‘Archbold News’ and the ‘Solicitors Journal’ and contributed to written responses by Liberty and the CBA.

Very basic French.

Criminal Bar Association; Justice; Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association.

King Henry VIII School, Coventry; University of Bristol (1993, LLB); Inns of Court Law School (1994).

Family, films, foods and sports.