Partner
LLB (Hons)
Described as a “formidable, intelligent and a first class fraud lawyer” in Legal 500 and Chambers, Amirah is a Partner dealing with serious business crime, heavy weight fraud, complex organised crime and confiscation work. She advises individuals and corporate clients, facing investigation, prosecution and enforcement action taken by the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority, HM Revenue & Customs and the National Crime Agency.
Amirah’s experience includes working on highly publicised cases with complex issues involving cross-border jurisdictions, novel frauds, high monetary values and technical legal points. Her strengths include the ability to digest voluminous evidence, forensically examine figures and advance a pro-active, tactical defence strategy on behalf of her clients.
Amirah has worked with some of the leading Kings Counsel and Counsel in the country, playing a key role in case strategy. She is recognised and respected for her work both in the profession and by clients.
Amirah is approved as a fraud supervisor for Very High Cost Cases (VHCC) and has considerable experience in their preparation. Such cases are primarily high value offences with an international dimension where there is voluminous disclosure of evidence.
Amirah is a specialist fraud lawyer with extensive knowledge and experience of confiscation, restraint and cash seizure proceedings. Her experience stretches to advising clients facing a spectrum of allegations including large scale terrorism, drugs conspiracies and sensitive matters where consideration is given to issues involving national security.
She also represents clients facing requests for extradition, mutual legal assistance and advises clients in respect of matters in foreign jurisdictions.
Amirah often travels internationally to advise and assist her clients and is fluent in speaking Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.
Serious Fraud & Business Crime Cases
Highly publicised investigation conducted by the Serious Fraud Office into bribery and corruption offences against Unaoil and affiliated companies. Linked to investigations conducted by the Department of Justice in the USA, Australia and Brazilian Authorities.
Serious Fraud Office investigation alleging an investment fraud where collectively over 11,000 investors lost circa £237 million. Highly publicised investigation leading to a Compensation Bill being laid out before Parliament and an independent investigation of the FCA action’s by an Independent Reviewer, Dame Elizabeth Gloster.
The Serious Fraud Office is conducting a criminal investigation into the business and accounting practices of individuals associated with Patisserie Holdings PLC, revealing allegedly an accounting irregularity of £94 million.
The SFO is investigating the activities of Petrofac PLC, it’s subsidiaries and their officers, employees and agents for bribery and corruption, including money laundering. The investigation into the use of agents in multiple jurisdictions including Saudia Arabia and Iraq is ongoing.
SFO Investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption spanning from 1996 to 2014 relating to the use of agents across the world in Nigeria, Saudia Arabia, Malaysia, India and Brazil. Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered amounting to £103 million, which forms part of a global settlement with the UK, US and Brazillian authorities of $US 177 million.
Serious Fraud Office investigation into claims of bribery and corruption in one of the world’s largest suppliers of tobacco, British American Tobacco. Widely publicised including on the BBC Panorama where a whistle blower at BAT has made claims that substantial bribe payments were offered to those who obtained confidential information about the marketing and product knowledge from competitor tobacco producers.
FCA investigation into the conduct of Worthington Group PLC (WRN) and its subsidiaries. The FCA’s investigation shows that a number of the claims made by the company to that end were false and/or misleading, and were issued for the purpose of artificially inflating the share price for the benefit of a select group of those controlling the company, which in turn produced significant profits for those individuals when they liquidated part of their shareholdings following the announcements and during a brief period when the (previously suspended) shares were traded on the open market.
Said to be one of the largest investigations conducted by the FCA in a share fraud carried out through a series of boiler room companies which led to the loss of £2.8 million of investors’ money. Defendants were alleged to have purchased a land in the Madeira Island in Portugal and offered shares to investors promising guaranteed returns.
An investigation conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority summarised as a “boiler room fraud” where unauthorised investment advice was offered and shares were sold at pre-initial Public Offerings. The said loss is around £4.5 million where a large number of shares sold were for public limited companies. The FCA allege that a number of front companies were used to disguise the true purpose of the business and to show that its operations were legitimate.
Deposit taking investment scheme amounting to circa £1 million where investors were allegedly made false promises of returns. The FCA further allege breaches under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
A high-profile case described as one of the largest Missing Trader / VAT Fraud investigation in the UK. The fraudulent companies involved ran a turnover, which was well in excess of £170 million. Companies both in the UK and in Europe were set up to falsely claim to sell mobile phones and other electronics in order to eventually syphon the VAT owed.
A £150 million corporation tax fraud where allegedly work was declared, that had not been undertaken, for an innovative project in science and technology in order to claim Research and Development Tax Relief. There is a complex arrangement of companies in the haven islands and overseas which requires detailed analysis of legal documents.
One of the largest frauds to be carried out using the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) with £8 million loss to the Revenue. Allegations included Cheating the Revenue of VAT, Income tax, Corporation Tax and National Insurance Contributions and Money Laundering. Illegal activity involved more than 100 businesses across the country whose identity was either hijacked or were part of the fraud.
The case is split into two sections: a Multi-million pound VAT carousel fraud and duty evasion on cigarettes imported into the UK. Defendants were alleged to have falsely created companies to orchestrate transactions where a substantial amount of VAT was owed to the Revenue. Cigarettes were bought into the UK through importations of tissues and noodles.
Case concerns multi-million pound charges of Cheating the Public Revenue and Money Laundering. The nature of the fraud was to take advantage of the VAT system which allows the Zero Rating of invoices and permits for any VAT spent on expenses incurred to be claimed by producing falsifying documentation. Defendant was also subject to complex Restraint Order and confiscation proceedings concerning multiple third parties.
This Investigation was conducted by The City of London Police and related to a high value mortgage fraud to the tune of approximately £40 million. The defendants were alleged to have fraudulently obtained mortgages from Barclays Private Clients International Limited in the Isle of Man and Abbey Commercial Mortgages. 18 defendants were charged including solicitors, chartered surveyors, mortgage brokers and individuals from Barclays.
Multi-handed Conspiracy to Defraud and Money Laundering relating to the acquisition of valuable land concerning a number of fraudulent mortgage applications being made for a very substantial loss. The prosecution disclosure was vast.
Multi handed Money Laundering and Mortgage Fraud. The case involved complex confiscation proceedings involving millions of pounds worth of assets. This was a Reported case which dealt with the Breach of Promise namely promise on acceptable pleas/basis of plea and bail.
Multi-million-pound fraud where one of the defendants was alleged to have impersonated the owner of a property in a sophisticated operation to obtain a high value bridging loan. The proceeds were transferred to Dubai and removed.
This case involves a well-established company who had an advanced fee arrangement with a prominent bank. The company was able to raise up to 80% of their invoices through the bank before they were settled. It is alleged that the company created false accounting in excess of £25 million. This case is at the investigation stage and has resulted in many arrests so far.
A “vishing and phishing” fraud with an alleged loss of £113 million, where an organised crime group infiltrated the systems of Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group and targeted their business customers. Seven different police forces were involved in this investigation.
Defendants face charges of Conspiracy to Defraud where investors have allegedly been persuaded to buy rare earth elements. Transactions were carried out through an Escrow Agent and by over 40 brokers based in the UK. The value of the fraud is said to be circa £7 million.
The City of London are investigating this mammoth Ponzi investment scheme. Our client is one of a number of persons being investigated for this fraudulent investment scheme incurring a loss of substantial sums of money to investors. A number of companies, banks, famous footballers outside the jurisdiction including the Cayman Islands were used to perpetuate this fraud.
Investigation conducted by the City of London Police into the mis-selling of carbon credits. Offices were set up by the Defendants in expensive locations in the City of London, including the Gherkin building, where hundreds of people were recruited to target wealthy investors and deploy pressurised sale tactics. In total 130 victims made investments and purchased both CER and VER carbon credits.
An investigation into a series of investment (boiler room) frauds targeting vulnerable elderly people where “suckers lists” are allegedly used to target previous victims to re-invest. The value of this fraud is described in millions at present.
This investigation concerned allegations of a Conspiracy to Defraud the network service providers Vodafone, o2, EE and 3. In excess of 20 people were arrested. Those at the top of the chain are said to have recruited students from universities in the UK to apply for contracts in return for a fixed sum payments. Contracts were later cancelled by the company with the mobile phones being later sold and the customer being faced the burden of the airtime contract and mobile phone.
Large scale investigation involving 19 defendants charged with offences of Conspiracy to Defraud by submitting fraudulent insurance claims. The individuals were divided into two separate organised crime networks who were actively arranging the crashes of vehicles with Tesco’s delivery vans. Crashes were alleged to be either staged or induced.
This investigation was conducted by City of London Police. The defendants were charged with a national fraud against credit and debit card companies with a loss of circa £1 million. The Crown alleged that there had been an abuse of provisions afforded to individuals such as credit protection, chargebacks and refunds. The defendants were said to have made a number of fraudulent transactions through complex arrangements and defrauded banks and merchant companies providing chip and pin facilities.
The Defendant along with others committed frauds and other offences relating to cherished number plates from DVLA. The police conducted a lengthy surveillance operation to gather evidence in this complex fraud which also involved stolen and cloned vehicles.
An investigation conducted by the National Crime Agency where it is suspected that the organised crime group has laundered large quantities of cash, estimated to be at least £40 million. The source of the criminal conduct is believed to be derived from bonded alcohol which has been diverted to the UK market without the payment of an excise duty.
Following the convictions of a number of family members for the importation of heroin and other dishonesty offences, and investigation was conducted into the finances of 11 Defendants. The individuals faced allegations of Conspiracy to Launder Money over a 10- year period and were said to have dissipated their assets worth around £1 million at the point of a family members arrest or confiscation proceedings. Unusual case which is linked to Operation Cadmus, Operation Shoreham and Operation Muscadet.
The case centres around allegations of a Missing Trader/ VAT Fraud and money laundering to the value of £10 million which resulted in alleged breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Over 50 companies based in the UK and Europe were said to be involved in complex chains of transactions where the Defendant was acting as an Escrow Agent.
Professionally planned money laundering operation where identities of individuals were hijacked to commit fraud and launder millions of pounds which was transferred through companies as far as Singapore. The Prosecution rely upon extensive digital evidence to link the Defendants in the creation of these companies and the onward transfer.
Sophisticated hawala banking alleged money laundering operation where Defendants are linked to the operation due to hundreds of £5 “token notes” found on mobile phones which suggest that millions of pounds were laundered.
This case is linked to Operation Façade. Charges were brought after a BBC Panorama programme in respect of systematic cheating on English Language Testing (TOEIC) at colleges where these tests were being sat by ‘pilots’ and the colleges were allegedly facilitating such cheating. As a result of these test results, applicants were able to fulfil certain criteria in their visa applications. The defendant received training by ETS as an administrator for TOEIC testing and was part of the senior management at the college. Case required a detailed understanding of the education system and role of testing centres with education institutions.
Multi-handed Conspiracy to Defraud the Secretary of State for the Home Office. The defendants were said to have caused and permitted false financial information in support of applications for Tier 1 Immigration Visas.
Serious & General Crime Cases
High profile case consisting of a multi-handed conspiracy to assist an offender. Investigation followed from the nationwide man hunt of Dale Cregan who was wanted for the double murder of two males and officers using a firearm and military grenades. ABV represented a Defendant who was alleged to have assisted Dale Cregan whilst he was on the run.
An investigation by specialist units under s11 of the Terrorism Act 2000 relating to an individual being a member of a proscribed organisation, namely Hezbollah. This case contained serious issues where the client’s objective was to seek asylum which had to be finely balanced with avoiding potential criminal charges.
This is an investigation under s58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 relating to material held or collected by an individual that could be used to commit a terrorist act. This was a highly sensitive case involving issues of national security, human rights, liaison with other governments and agencies due to the nature of the confidential material held by the individual.
The Defendant was charged with the attempted murder of two individuals, one of whom suffered life changing injuries. The case was investigated by the Trident Gang Crime Command Unit. The two victims received multiple gun shot wounds at close range. The Prosecution relied upon extensive cell site and ANPR evidence.
The case was a multi-handed serious honour crime with allegations of Conspiracy to Kidnap, False Imprisonment and Assault. Defendants charged included family members and individuals who were instructed as “heavy weights” to take part in a series of assaults, including kidnapping the victim and taking him to a remote location. Issues in the case were particularly sensitive as they involved a male and female from a Muslim background.
Multi-handed Conspiracy to Steal of over 100 high performance vehicles stolen from across the UK which were exported to Africa and the Middle East. The gain to the Defendants was alleged to have been in the region of £15 million. The vehicles were stolen using sophisticated keyless technology to create a third key through the use of specialist diagnostic equipment. With the assistance of trackers, the Defendants were able to steal vehicles, change their identities and remove them from the UK jurisdiction.
An investigation conducted by the NCA into an organised crime group based in South East England with links to Brazil, Jamaica, Portugal and South Africa. The methodology used by the Defendants, some of whom were British Airways baggage handlers, included circumventing border controls to smuggle over £32 million of Class A and B drugs. This was an extensive surveillance operation where around 200 media devices were seized.
A highly sophisticated operation which was investigated by the National Crime Agency where a “massive” cannabis production factory was raided. The Defendants were part of an Albanian crime syndicate who utilised a warehouse to run their operation. The architecture of the warehouse was complex with a specialist design to create tens of purpose built sections to conceal the plants and to avoid detection. Over £5 million worth of drugs were seized, 70 mobile phones and surveillance was conducted over a period of a year.
This involved the importation of approximately 20 kg of Cocaine from Africa, which was smuggled on commercial passenger British Airways flights in food catering pods. The case was investigated by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and resulted in the charging of many defendants following surveillance over a lengthy period of time.
This case concerned the surveillance by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of individuals who were thought to be an organised crime group operating a supply of Class A drugs in the Thames valley Area.
Large scale, multi-handed Conspiracy to Supply Class A Drugs following the arrests of some of the defendants from Barbados Airport in possession of a large quantity of Cocaine. A further large quantity of Cocaine is said to have been imported in separate multiple supplies from Venezula and then distributed within the U.K.
Officers from the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Essex and London areas conducted an extensive investigation over a significant period of time into the supply of high purity Class A drugs. Targets included those who were senior members of the Organised Crime Group with differing roles in the drugs supply chain. Over 40 mobile phones were examined in detail to demonstrate the daily movements of the Defendants together with use of ANPR and surveillance evidence.
The case is linked to Operation Fortress and was a multi-handed Conspiracy to Supply Class A and B drugs. Following an extensive investigation spanning over a year and a half, the Defendants were said to have been supplying drugs from the West London area to Southampton. A number of dealer lines were associated to the Defendants which led to the extensive examination of over 50 mobile phones.
This case concerned a client charged with an 8 handed Conspiracy to Supply both cocaine and heroin within the Southampton area. Prosecution alleged that our client played a leading role in the distribution network by sourcing the drugs in London before sending them down to Southampton for onward supply. Defence counsel made a successful half-time submission of no case to answer in respect of the Conspiracy to Supply Heroin count.
This case concerned a multi-handed investigation into the importation and manufacture of a substantial quantity of Class C controlled drugs, namely steroids, and the subsequent laundering of the criminal proceeds of crime. The value of the drugs was over a million pounds and the offence was committed over a significant period of time. The most unusual feature of this case was that the drugs were being sold on the internet through e-bay using shell companies for marketing and payment.
Regulatory Cases
Investigation conducted by the Environment Agency where a number of suspects have been interviewed facing allegations of illegally depositing high volumes of baled refused derived fuel at multiple vulnerable industrial sites across the Midlands. Further allegations faced are fraud, money laundering and large scale criminal damage. The value of the fraud is in excess of £40 million. Some suspects now face charges of Contempt of Court in respect of disclosure relating to Restraint Order proceedings.
Large Trading Standards prosecution concerning a well-known company based in the Midlands. Allegations include the company being involved over a systematic period of time in a commercial large-scale fraud. A vast number of consumers were said to be misled and were provided quotes for work which represented gross overcharging designed to dupe and mislead vulnerable adults.
Investigation conducted by Trading Standards into a business selling over 100 vehicles where the odometer was falsified together with other malfunctions. Vehicles were sold all over the Hampshire region and beyond. Extreme lengths were deployed by the defendants to source the vehicles, alter their identity together with official documents and arrange their sale.
Investigation conducted by Trading Standards where the Defendant is said to have been selling mobile phones and other accessories in breach of Trade Mark offences and electrical safety regulations. Complex confiscation proceedings which followed where the Council sought to include past sales from many companies belonging to the Defendant in the benefit figure. The turnover of the companies amounted to millions of pounds.
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