6 King’s Bench Walk is home to ‘big-name barristers with established reputations…capable of tackling fraud cases of the greatest complexity’.
(Chambers UK 2011)
6 King’s Bench Walk has exceptional expertise in defending and prosecuting the largest and most high-profile cases in this field. Recent examples include the prosecution of Asil Nadir (allegations of multi-million pound fraud leading to the collapse of Polly Peck), the BAe Systems case (corruption allegations relating to arms sales), and Rastogi and others (multi-billion pound metal trading fraud). Members also have established reputations for tackling cases of insider trading, carousel, and advance fee fraud.
Chambers is instructed to defend by a number of specialist fraud solicitors, and members continue to build on their record of defending prominent individuals whose cases attract attention in the financial press and beyond. For example, Chambers recently acted in the defence of a former CEO of a City reinsurance broker, prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office for offences of overseas corruption – the first case to be concluded under the Attorney General’s guidelines on plea discussions in such cases following the appeals in Innospec and Dougall.
More generally, practitioners are on hand to give up-to-the-minute advice to clients seeking to understand changes brought about by new, and often complex, legislation. Members have, for instance, provided detailed advice to corporate entities and auditors on ‘adequate procedures’ relevant to corporate liability under s.7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
Chambers also lectures to solicitors and accountants in the
UK and overseas regarding fraud and relevant legislation. Members have recently lectured to the Quoted Companies Alliance, as well as to professionals in the
Cayman Islands. Chambers provides pro bono advice to the Commonwealth Secretariat in relation to anti-corruption strategies in other Commonwealth jurisdictions.
For the prosecution members of Chambers are instructed by a number of agencies including the Serious Fraud Office, the Financial Services Authority, the department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and the CPS (Central Fraud Group). Practitioners have a strong record of acting as independent and retained counsel for individuals and corporations who are the subject of investigation by the SFO.