SFO

UNAOIL

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.

LONDON CAPITAL & FINANCE LTD

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.

PATISSERIE HOLDING PLC

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.

PETROFAC PLC

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.

AMEC FOSTER WHEELER

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.

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO

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

Operation Gillingham – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Tidworth – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Haselmere – Investigation Stage

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.

Operation Eastleigh – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Tax Fraud

Operation Inertia – Kingston Crown Court

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.

R v Z – Birmingham Crown Court

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.

Operation Savate – Birmingham Crown Court

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.

R v Z – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Trickshot – Guildford Crown Court

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.

Mortgage Fraud

Operation Aquamarine – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Systom – Luton Crown Court

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.

Operation Kemney/ CPS v Mattu [2010] CRIM L.R 229CA – REPORTED CASE – Lewes Crown Court

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.

Operation Yalong – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Conspiracy to Defraud

R v A – Investigations Stage

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.

Operation Kadenza – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Stagecoach – Blackfriars Crown Court

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.

R v C – City of London Investigation

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.

Operation Wintergreen – SOUTHWARK CROWN COURT

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.

Operation Jackdaw & Ivan- Reading Crown Court

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.

R v C – National Mobile Phone Crime Unit Investigation

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.

Operation Fustuscaro – Harrow Crown Court

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.

R v S – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Union – Birmingham Crown Court

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.

Money Laundering

Operation Surging – Southwark Crown Court

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.

Operation Doberman – Manchester Crown Court

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.

Operation Unphazed – Nottingham Crown Court

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.

Operation Major – Guildford Crown Court

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.

Operation Addlings – Blackfriars Crown Court

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.

Immigration Fraud

Operation Belman – Manchester Crown Court

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.

Operation Tobin – Harrow Crown Court

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.