Tax fraud includes evasion, where an individual or company avoids their tax liability by deliberately failing to declare their income, or by falsifying expenses. It also includes smuggling goods that are liable to excise duty, customs duty or VAT. Tax theft can arise when a person claims amounts that are not due.

We have acted in a range of tax fraud cases including a multi-million-pound film tax relief conspiracy prosecution brought by HMRC and numerous cases of Fraudulent Evasion of VAT,  Stamp Duty relief, MTIC Fraud, Carousel Fraud, Cheating the Public Revenue, Fraudulent Conduct to obtain Tax Credits, and Fraudulent Evasion of Duty/Evasion of Excise Duty.

Fraudulent schemes may involve the sale of unregulated company bonds, plots of land, carbon credits, art, investment opportunities, hotel developments, the list is potentially endless. Some of these schemes are straightforward frauds, with no assets purchased despite the investor paying over their money. Others are complex “Ponzi Schemes”, where some returns are established before the operator disappears, leaving insufficient assets to cover the investments and with some investors receiving nothing.

Our work includes the successful defence of the main defendant in SFO proceedings alleging conspiracy to steal invested pension funds and acting for two IFA’s charged with investing their client’s funds (unwittingly) in high-risk investment schemes.  ‘Boiler room’, and Advance Fee frauds have been a constant feature of the investment landscape for decades later joined by Carbon Credit frauds, and internet schemes; reflecting this, we have built up decades of experience in such cases.

False accounting is a criminal offence charged under the Theft Act 1968. Accounting fraud may also form part of a broader allegation of fraud, with the false accounting being a part of the alleged cover up of an underlying offence, such as theft from the company. False accounting may also be used as a device to attract investment from banks, or to inflate the share price. 

The background to each case is different, providing often nuanced reasons for decisions made impacting company accounts. We will work with you to understand the events at your company and your specific role in those events, looking to bring any investigation to a swift conclusion and to avoid criminal proceedings.

Our clients include directors, accountants, CEO’s and CFO’s, auditor and others involved in the preparation of company accounts.  As appropriate to each case, we make use of specialist expert witnesses and barristers ensuring that all technical arguments (in this highly technical field) are considered.

We act for businesses and directors accused or being investigated for alleged fraudulent claims made for Covid relief funding, such as Bounce Back Loans and use of the furlough scheme. There will often be parallel proceedings restraining company assets pending the investigation outcome. 

Bank fraud can include account takeovers, card fraud, cheque fraud/counterfeit cheque fraud, cybercrime, false accounting, hacking, ID theft, money laundering, online bank fraud or prime bank guarantee fraud.  Banks may also allege a customer has committed banking fraud when loss occurs.

In addition to dealing with bank fraud cases involving the above elements for 25 years, we have acted in large scale multi-defendant conspiracy cases involving banks.  These have included  conspiracies to defraud banks through for example the creation of hundreds of false accounts using fake identity documents, coupled with the creation of positive credit histories before using loan applications and credit cards to build enormous debt.  We have acted for those accused of presenting fraudulent banking documentation relating to bonds, proving they were themselves the victim of an earlier fraud in which they had come to possess the fraudulent documentation.   We act for a senior banker in a private bank accused of the theft and/or improper movement of funds from and between dormant client clients.

This is a highly specialised area of work. Allegations of fraud occurring in this area require an understanding of the commodity market concerned, and the particular regulations and policies and standard practices applicable.

In recent years there has been a growth in the number of commodity trading frauds and scandals, often with an overlap of allegations of insider dealing/trading in such cases.

We have experience of cases involving the London Metal Exchange and have made use of expert witnesses able to advise on the intricacies of the LME market regulations and its culture when advising in LME investigations. 

The criminal offence of insider dealing is set out in the Financial Services Act 20125 and the Criminal Justice Act 1993. Under section 52 of the CJA 1993, a criminal offence of insider dealing is committed where (i) an individual has information, as an insider, and deals in securities that are price-affected in relation to that information; (ii) encourages another person to deal in such securities; or (iii) discloses that information, otherwise than in the proper performance of his employment, office or profession.

An insider is defined as an individual who holds information which is, and which they know is, inside information, and which has been obtained, and which they know has been obtained, from an inside source. Inside information means information which relates to particular securities, or a particular issuer of securities, and which is specific or precise, has not been made public, and, if it were to be made public, would be likely to have a significant effect on the price of those securities.

We have acted in a number of insider dealing investigations including allegations of commodity fraud at the London Metal Exchange.  

We work with you and your colleagues and where appropriate, with experts in the relevant business area, to understand the practices and culture in which the alleged fraud is said to have occurred. Having assessed the available evidence we advise on the best strategic approach, looking to bring a swift conclusion to any investigation and to avert any criminal charge arising.

This is one of the most dangerous offences that can be alleged against you and can be one of the hardest to defend. This is because, unlike nearly all other criminal allegations, mere suspicion that money laundering is occurring can be sufficient to establish guilt of the offence.

For example, section 328 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 states that “a person commits an offence if he enters into or becomes concerned in an arrangement which he knows or suspects facilitates (by whatever means) the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person.”

The offence includes a wide range of activity involving those who launder on behalf of others, usually at the layering and integration stages. It can catch individuals who work in financial or credit institutions, accountants or other professionals, who facilitate money laundering by or on behalf of others, in the course of their work. This can include legal advisors.

Money laundering is defined in the Proceeds of Crime Act as “the process by which the proceeds of crime are converted into assets which appear to have a legitimate origin, so that they can be retained permanently or recycled into further criminal enterprises”.

Money laundering can be broken down into two categories:

1. Those who commit offences and then launder the proceeds of those criminal offences. The criminal offences are referred to as “predicate offences”.

1. Those whose only criminal involvement is to launder the proceeds of crime committed by others.

We act for individuals and business in each category.   We can advise and defend your business in any regulatory or criminal investigation. If you are an individual accused of money laundering, we can defend you in any criminal investigation or prosecution.

Money laundering allegations often arise in connection to other allegations of fraud. We have vast experience of handling fraud allegations of all types, including those spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Regulated businesses must put measures in place to help prevent money laundering, per the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Businesses also have to report any suspicious activity in a Suspicious Activity Report to the National Crime Agency (NCA). When a business fails to do this, the NCA can conduct a regulatory enforcement investigation, impose regulatory penalties or prosecute the business. If your business is being investigated by the NCA, we can offer thorough and effective legal representation.

Fraud Bribery and Money Laundering Sentencing Guidelines

www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/about-sentencing-guidelines/about-published-guidelines/fraud-bribery-and-money-laundering

We accept instructions on a private basis. Your company insurance policy may provide for legal expenses covering our work and should be checked.

We are a member of the Legal Aid Agency’s Very High Cost Case Panel allowing for publicly funded representation in the very largest fraud cases. However, we do not take on all publicly funded cases and not all lawyers in the firm are available for this work. Please contact us to discuss private case costs and eligibility for legal aid.