He is a joint author of Confiscation and the Proceeds of Crime (Sweet and Maxwell 3rd Ed. looseleaf), Administrative Court: Practice and Procedure (Sweet and Maxwell, 2006) and a contributing editor to Civil Procedure (“the White Book”.).

He has appeared on behalf of government agencies, corporate and individuals in over 500 cases in the House of Lords and Privy Council, Court of Appeal, High Court and in foreign jurisdictions. Included in these appearances are 6 asset forfeiture / money laundering cases to go to the House of Lords since 2000.

His extensive practice under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 includes acting for the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (formerly the Assets Recovery Agency), receivers and respondents in proceedings in the High Court and part 6 taxation proceedings. In addition, he has appeared in leading cases on disclosure and consents to act and regularly advises financial institutions on making protected and authorised disclosures to SOCA to comply with anti-money laundering legislation. His proceeds of crime practice embraces all aspects of restraint, receivership and confiscation in the High Court and Crown Court.

He regularly acts in investigative cases to maintain / quash search warrants, production orders and other intrusive investigative powers.

He is also instructed as independent counsel, particularly in legal professional privilege disputes. In this capacity he has acted in the Cash for Honours inquiry, the David Mills/Silvio Berlusconi investigation, and the investigation into former Law Society President Robert Sayer.

Civil fraud and asset tracing cases, particularly those involving freezing orders and receivership are also part of his practice.

Notable Cases

Included in this list is some 2008 cases to give an idea of his current practice and a selection of cases from previous years

2008

• Irwin Mitchell v RCPO [2008] EWCA Crim 1741
  Solicitors lien trumping restraint order
• Masters v HMRC [2008] EWHC 2721 Admin
  Judicial review quashing Revenue search warrants
• Re M [2008] EWHC 472 Admin
  Payment of receiver’s costs
• Flaherty v City of Westminster Magistrates’ court [2008] EWHC 2589 Admin
  Judicial review of decision enforcing confiscation order

Other 2008 caseload with court appearances include:-

• SFO v Balfour Beatty (first High Court civil recovery by SFO)
• Nazham (appointment of High Court receiver to enforce order)
• Olden (civil recovery in High Court for SOCA)
• Noskova (confiscation of money laundering benefit)
• Craven and Pepper (High Court civil recovery for SOCA)
• Nalborough (receivership over money laundering company)
• Sayer (£100m excise duty fraud)
• Allan (High Court civil recovery)
• Zejnulai (summary judgment in High Court civil recovery)
• US Govt v Saccoccia (enforcement of $134m US court judgment in High Court)
• Moya Payroll (receivership of company)
• Woolf, Sieff and Swan (search warrants over safety deposit box centres)
• US Govt v Montgomery (High Court enforcement of US judgment)
• De La Rue v Loch (High Court tracing action / proprietary claim)
• Omolewe (cash forfeiture by police)
• Cheney Pension (confiscation orders against directors for theft from pension fund)
• Simons (£33m excise duty fraud)
• Lipinski (£27m excise duty fraud)
• Sabrewatch / Securiplan (confiscation of corporate assets for unlicenced guards)

Previous Years

• Adams and others (2007)
  Money laundering of notorious gangland figure
• Broadhead [2006] EWCA Crim 3062
  Criminal appeal against a £1.5m confiscation order
• Richards [2006] EWCA Civ 849
  Civil appeal. Leading case on relationship between confiscation and matrimonial proceedings
• Tahir [2006] EWCA Crim 792
  Criminal appeal against a £12 million confiscation order
• SFO v X [2005] EWCA Civ 1564
  Civil appeal. Leading case on application by defendants to vary a restraint order to pay legal costs
• Sharma [2005] EWCA Crim 2919
  Criminal appeal. The power to restrain third parties
• Capewell [2005] EWCA Civ 964
  Civil appeal. Payment of receiver’s costs
• Ascroft [2004] 1 Cr App R(S) 326
  Criminal appeal. Calculating a confiscation case.
• US Government v Montgomery (no 2) [2004] 1 WLR 2241
  Civil House of Lords appeal. Compatibility with the ECHR of enforcing foreign judgments
• Rezvi and Benjafield [2003] 1 AC 1099
  Criminal Lords Appeal. Compatibility of confiscation laws with ECHR
• Hughes and others [2003] 1 WLR 177
  Civil appeal . Receiver’s costs
• Pope [2002] 1 WLR 1966
  Criminal Lords appeal. Construction of committal powers to Crown Court
• Eurobank (2002-2003) (Grand Court of the Cayman Islands)
  Prosecution of a bank for money laundering
• Cadman Smith [2002] 1 WLR 54
  Criminal Lords appeal. Leading case on benefit in confiscation cases
• Norris [2001] 1 WLR 1388
  Civil Lords appeal. Rights of a third party spouse in confiscation case