5 Paper Buildings

Crime – general, crime – fraud.

A criminal practitioner with considerable experience in defending and prosecuting a wide range of general crime, with a particular emphasis on tax fraud; he has also applied the same analytical and advocacy skills to civil proceedings for fraud, the confiscation of the proceeds of crime, and advising or representing those served with third party witness summonses. Before taking silk he was Standing Counsel to the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office for five years, prosecuting cases involving the creation and promotion of income and corporation tax evasion schemes, drugs importation cases brought on behalf of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, and cases involving diversion fraud, evasion of VAT or Anti-Dumping Duty, and money laundering. He has also been instructed by the SFO, the MHRA, and the OFT (in relation to cartels). Recent cases include prosecuting individuals employed to devise and sell a tax avoidance scheme involving the purchase of shares in start-up companies which were then floated on the Channel Island Stock exchange; the shares were then donated to charity, and dishonestly overvalued for the purposes of claims for tax relief on the donations. There were over 600 subscribers to the scheme, who between them sought to avoid paying more than £70m in tax as a result. The defendants subscribed themselves, but also extracted £4.5m for their own benefit from the proceeds of the share subscriptions. Defending the principal defendant in a 6 month MTIC fraud trial, where £10m is alleged to have been obtained dishonestly from HMRC, and false claims submitted for a further £18m. Prosecuting four defendants contesting two conspiracies to defraud and money laundering in respect of fraudulent wine investment schemes operated over three years through two successive companies which obtained £4.5m from members of the public induced to invest in wine overseas. Defending a lobster fisherman charged with having collected a number of rucksacks containing 250kg of cocaine from the middle of the English Channel and depositing them just off the coast of the Isle of Wight, involving allegations of disputed observation evidence.

Called 1998; Grays Inn; QC 2010. Advocacy trainer, Grays Inn. Publications of note: contributing editor, Archbold (in respect of the chapters on Trial, Privilege and Disclosure, and Offences under the Theft & Fraud Acts).

Criminal Bar Association.

BA (Hons).