Corporate Crime: Detection & Reaction

Sara has over 25 years’ experience as a barrister. In chambers she specialised in fraud, criminal insolvency and regulatory offences, both prosecuting and defending.

She was on the A Lists to prosecute cases for the CPS, including the Fraud Division and RASSO (serious sexual offences), the Health and Safety Executive, the Office of Rail and Road and the Environment Agency and continued to prosecute Health and Safety cases when in Silk (from 2017). She was on the Attorney General’s criminal list to prosecute Government cases including HM Customs and Excise (money laundering, drug smuggling and bondhouse and VAT diversion frauds). She also prosecuted for the Services Prosecutions (Royal Navy).

From 2012 to 2017 she was Standing Counsel to the Insolvency Service (Department for Business) dealing with the most serious offences around company directors and corporate insolvency and advising on certain policies.

In 2019 she was appointed General Counsel for the SFO. She sits on the SFO Board and is a member of Exco running the SFO with the SFO Director, the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Capability Officer

She was elected a Barrister Governing Bencher of Inner Temple in 2015 and is an advocacy trainer for the Inn. Before coming to the Bar she was a consultant researcher at the Law Commission.

Edward Garnier KC is a highly experienced silk in England & Wales and Northern Ireland.

His practice includes corporate advisory and financial services work, corporate crime and international human rights as well as defamation, privacy, confidence, malicious falsehood, contempt and related media law cases. His extensive experience in practice is underpinned by a parallel career in politics and as one of the Government’s two Law Officers: he served as an MP from 1992 until 2017 and was HM Solicitor General from 2010 to 2012. He is now in the House of Lords.

Edward advises and acts for companies and individuals whose rights have been adversely affected by foreign governments and agencies, including, for example, by asset seizures, imprisonment, extradition applications and Interpol Red Notices, as well as for overseas governments and agencies who are seeking to comply with international standards and the rule of law. He is regularly consulted by NGOs and charitable organisations.

When in Government as Solicitor General, he developed and introduced into this jurisdiction from the United States the Deferred Prosecution Agreement, a means of dealing with companies who admit their offending to supplement prosecutions against individuals suspected of economic crime. He appeared for the Serious Fraud Office in two of the DPAs so far approved by the Court, the first one, Standard Bank, in 2014, and the then-largest, Rolls-Royce, in 2017. In 2020-21 he led the legal team acting for two respondent companies in the 11th and 12th DPAs to be approved by the Court.

In the media law sphere, Edward acts for individual and corporate claimants, both within England & Wales and Northern Ireland and abroad, and for individual defendants and corporate defendants from the publishing, internet and broadcasting world.

Aziz’s reputation is built on leading and assembling teams for global investigations, conducting major internal investigations for multinational corporates and representing international figures and companies in high-stakes, cross-border commercial disputes. He wins awards and high legal guide rankings for coordinating multinational and multi-agency defences for corporates and individuals. Aziz is known for astute representation of clients in white-collar criminal cases worldwide and in civil regulatory proceedings. He advises on large-scale bribery and corruption around the world, all aspects of major international sanctions and is known for identifying and becoming involved in emerging international issues the moment they arise, such as pension liberation fraud, Libor, Forex and Cum-Ex

Mary Inman is a partner from Constantine Cannon’s San Francisco office who is on assignment to the London Office.  After 20+ years representing whistleblowers in the U.S., she moved to London in July 2017 to launch the firm’s international whistleblower practice. She specializes in representing whistleblowers from the U.K., E.U. and worldwide under the American whistleblower reward programs.

Ms. Inman is a recognized expert and frequent author and speaker on areas related to the international application of the American whistleblower laws, financial frauds, health care reimbursement and government procurement.  She has particular expertise in addressing Medicare Advantage risk adjustment fraud and is one of the lead attorneys in a prominent whistleblower case against UnitedHealth Group involving allegations the Medicare Advantage Organization submitted false claims for payment to the Medicare Program based on artificially inflated member risk scores.  She also has extensive experience addressing fraud in government infrastructure projects, and representing city and state governments in prosecuting civil fraud actions.

Ms. Inman joined Constantine Cannon in June 2015.  Previously, she was a partner at Phillips & Cohen, LLP.  Her clients have successfully helped the United States and various states and municipalities recover hundreds of millions of dollars.

Francesca is widely recognised as an asset on the highest-level corporate crime investigations and other matters where crisis management is vitally important.

Her track record includes in-depth experience of many of the largest and most notable multinational cases. Having worked for many years for an international law firm, she is adept at handling all aspects of the most complex, multifaceted investigations.

Francesca’s workload has included many of the most significant Serious Fraud Office investigations, including some of the biggest bribery, cross-border and carbon credit tax fraud cases. Francesca advised a senior executive in the SFO’s Petrofac bribery investigation. She acted for a former bank trader who was charged regarding market manipulation of the EURIBOR interest rate benchmark and assisted in the defence of traders investigated and prosecuted by the SFO over alleged manipulation of the LIBOR interest rate.

Her ability to identify and navigate the best route in a criminal investigation has led to her being the first choice of many high net worth individuals, senior business figures and professionals in cases where reputations are at stake.

Francesca was involved in the UK’s biggest phone hacking and related investigations - Operations Weeting, Elveden and Tuleta – and has represented clients in high-profile extradition proceedings.

Francesca has particular expertise in the area of proceeds of crime (money laundering) and frequently advises on a range of issues including the making of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and law enforcement applications that seek to freeze or seize assets, including Account Freezing Orders, Restraint Orders, and other applications made under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

With her acknowledged achievements in fraud and other financial crime, she is also sought by corporates for advice and representation on compliance matters; including responding to whistleblower complaints and conducting internal investigations and risk assessments.

Her work on top-level investigations has included acting for those investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority over suspected anti-competitive practices. She also represented the former CEO of an international telecommunications company in a Financial Conduct Authority investigation into market abuse and suspected breaches of the Financial Services Act 2012.

Francesca is former chair and current Educational Secretary of the Young Fraud Lawyers Association.

Stéphane de Navacelle practices corporate litigation, predominantly in criminal law, regulatory, internal investigations, compliance, complex commercial litigation, international arbitration and mediation in New York, London and Paris.

With over 15 years’ experience in investigations in France and abroad led in part in connection with French, Foreign or international organizations (at Engel & McCarney, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Navacelle), he advises entities in rolling out and auditing ethics and compliance programs; as such he was appointed Independent Compliance Monitor Expert (2017-2019, 2019-2021, 2022-2024, 2022-2024) pursuant to negotiated resolution agreements between European conglomerates with a global reach and the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Former member of the Paris Bar Council (2017-2019), he was secretary of the ethics commission, member of disciplinary reviews board of the Paris Bar and the Bar President délégué for influence through law. He currently serves the Bar as referent for influence through law. Moreover, Stéphane was appointed Observer by the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR, 2009), member of the board of directors of the Fondation de Coubertin (a French public interest Foundation, 2010-2016) Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (2016), member of the French Independent Committee on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE, 2019-2021), member of the Commission Reconnaissance et Réparation (CRR – Recognition and Reparation Commission) and the Commission for the fight against mistreatment and abuse and the promotion of well-treatment.

Zoë Newman is a regional managing director and global co-head of the Financial Investigations practice, based in London. Zoë leverages over 20 years of experience working across Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Middle East and has led numerous international cross-border investigations. These investigations required the tracing of complex fund flows, dissection of corporate structures and assessment of the integrity of transactions to support both civil and criminal asset recovery proceedings and disclosures to regulators.

Anupreet is a partner in our Corporate Crime and Investigations practice.

Anupreet advises companies on business crime and compliance matters. His practice covers five areas: (1) preventative advice to design and enhance compliance policies and procedures; (2) economic crime due diligence in M&A transactions; (3) internal investigations of alleged or otherwise suspected wrongdoing; (4) advising clients facing interest by law enforcement agencies, whether as witnesses or suspects; and (5) related civil litigation, particularly as to fraud and asset recovery. Those matters are usually multi-jurisdictional in nature and relate to the full range of economic crimes, including bribery and corruption, economic sanctions, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

Lily Kennett, Partner at Schillings. Lily is listed on the Citywealth Leaders List and is an expert in detecting and managing threats to our clients’ privacy and reputations. She has reported for Time Magazine and the Today programme, and has produced investigative programmes such as Channel 4's ‘Dispatches’

Clarissa Oliveira has been practicing White Collar and Investigations since 2004 representing both individuals and legal entities in complex multidisciplinary white-collar matters.

Her extensive track record of includes almost two decades of trials both in State and Federal Brazilian Courts and several corporate investigations responsive to subpoenas from Brazilian authorities, Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

She has broad experience in evaluating internal controls and has developed and implemented several, Anticorruption, Anti-Fraud to public tenders, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) at financial institutions and players in the capital markets.

Clarissa is listed among the best white-collar practitioners in Brazil by several rankings and has participated in many panels around the globe discussing cross border investigations, business crime defense and other compliance matters.

Matthew is a vastly experienced, award-winning white-collar crime lawyer and a leading member of Rahman Ravelli’s corporate crime group.

Matthew has a track record in high-profile, groundbreaking cases and in representing major corporates and senior executives in government-facing investigations and litigation.

Matthew acts for clients in corporate investigations, settlements and contested proceedings, providing legal advice and managing fact investigations, plea discussions and trials.

Specifically, Matthew has extensive experience of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and investigations involving worldwide regulators. His expertise in bribery and corruption, fraud, insider dealing, money laundering, sanctions and accounting irregularities means that he is called on by corporates to advise them and, if necessary, represent them in all stages of an investigation. Matthew also regularly advises corporates in every sector on compliance best practice.

Matthew has been at the heart of some of this century’s most notable investigations. He is adept at managing the full range of government investigations and enforcement matters that are faced by both individuals and corporates.

Between 2016 and 2021, acting for Airbus, Matthew was a lead partner in the market-leading global corruption settlement. This investigation into allegations of corruption saw the company reaching coordinated settlements with the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the French Parquet National Financier, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and US Department of State. Matthew coordinated the company’s response to all three regulators in Washington, London and Paris. He also led the parallel compliance discussions with the combined regulators.

Matthew’s other high-stakes defence cases include representations in the global investigations by the SFO and its international counterparts into Afren plc, Alstom, Amec Foster Wheeler, GPT and GSK. He has a strong, successful record in contested matters against the SFO and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Before taking senior positions at international law firms from 2010 onwards, Matthew was a lead prosecutor at the SFO. In his 11 years at the SFO, he was at the forefront of many of the largest corporate investigations. He led cases that have helped shape how the UK investigates and prosecutes international corruption. Two of his cases were instrumental in prompting the UK’s creation of the Bribery Act 2010 and the introduction of DPAs.

Matthew has been ranked by The Chambers UK Guide and praised for his "excellent knowledge of the regulatory agencies’’. He was referred to in Chambers as “an excellent lawyer with good technical abilities" who has “fantastic investigation expertise’’. The Legal 500 has ranked him as a leading individual for regulatory investigations and corporate crime. It said, “he brings practical expertise, intellectual rigour and a longstanding knowledge of the main regulators to achieve the best result.’’

Who's Who Legal has classed Matthew as a global leader and recommended him as an elite business crime defence lawyer for corporates. He has won a succession of legal industry awards relating to his white-collar, compliance and investigations work in the Airbus case as well as numerous judicial commendations for his SFO casework.

As well as being a qualified barrister, Matthew lectures in law. He has lectured at the University of Nottingham and is currently the visiting lecturer in financial crime at the London School of Economics. He is a regularly-published author and conference speaker on white-collar crime issues. Matthew is the author of a chapter on corruption in the latest Oxford University Press textbook on money laundering and the proceeds of crime.

Maria has a broad commercial practice with a particular focus on fraud, insolvency, jurisdiction, service, and international arbitration. She frequently appears both led and as sole counsel in Court and arbitral proceedings.

Before coming to the Bar, Maria was a qualified solicitor-advocate. She spent five years working at a top international law firm, where she specialised in commercial litigation. During this time, she gained first-hand experience in oral and written advocacy, spent six months in the firm’s Singapore office and worked on cases in Russia, Norway and Zambia.

Maria speaks fluent Russian and has lived and worked in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

She has a double first class degree in Modern and Medieval Languages from the University of Cambridge and is admitted to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, British Virgin Islands.

Syed's great depth of experience in serious fraud, financial crime and multi-jurisdictional investigations has earmarked him as a robust solicitor. He is proficient in both civil and criminal cases, where there is an allegation of corporate wrongdoing. Syed has substantial experience in advising corporate entities and their directors and officers in relation to investigations conducted by all the major enforcement agencies. He has also built an impressive reputation in the field of asset-tracing and recovery, with a respected track record regarding international disputes where urgent relief is required involving freezing orders and recovering misappropriated assets.

Syed is recognised for his sector-leading, pioneering cryptocurrency work, having secured a number of significant legal firsts when representing institutions and individuals. His specialist expertise in civil recovery proceedings under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) has also led to him recording notable successes for clients in national and international cases.

Syed has a dynamic practice involving complex sanctions issues and related litigation. He has notable cases in this area, including representation of public limited companies (PLC’s) trading on the London Stock Exchange in relation to international sanctions on Russia, public joint-stock companies (PJSC’s) trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange regarding UK and EU sanctions on Russia and a major Russian power engineering company headquartered in St Petersburg relating to international sanctions advice. Syed regularly prepares licence applications to release frozen funds or economic resources for designated persons and entities. He is also adept at challenging sanctions designations.

He is known for his abilities in multijurisdictional, worldwide asset recovery cases – including obtaining and defending the full range of injunctions - high-stakes commercial and financial disputes and cross-border investigations involving attacks on clients’ interests by numerous governments or agencies. His skill in defending high-profile corruption, fraud and regulatory allegations and his ability to negotiate with investigators have ensured his clients receive the strongest representation.

The Chambers UK Guide regularly ranks Syed as an elite solicitor. It has called him “a very technically gifted lawyer’’ and has said he “gets on top of all the facts in complex cases’’. Chambers has described him as “very committed to the work he does’’ and said he “leaves no stone unturned and has a passion for what he does’’. It has repeatedly highlighted his expertise in POCA work and asset recovery proceedings. The 2023 edition of Chambers praises his ability to “forge ground in fast-developing areas’’ and his cryptocurrency case skills.

Syed’s clients include corporates and their directors, financial institutions, hedge funds, high net worth individuals and international private clients around the world. Syed has a particular interest in litigation arising from mergers and acquisitions, derivatives and securities offerings (IPO’s, SPAC IPO’s and debt offerings) and works with private equity funds and private sponsors for public companies.

He is adept at advising corporate entities and their directors and officers on their regulatory and compliance obligations and in investigations conducted by agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority, National Crime Agency and HM Revenue & Customs. His ability to assess complex issues, establish the facts and analyse challenging sets of circumstances have seen him excel on internal investigations carried out for Rahman Ravelli’s corporate clients.

Syed routinely advises clients in FCA investigations into alleged market abuse, breaches of regulated activities and unauthorised trading. He is sought by asset management firms and chief investment officers at hedge funds facing enforcement proceedings and financial services litigation.

The Legal 500 has called Syed “a creative thinker’’, “a master of detail’’ and someone who “entirely devotes himself to his cases’’. It has drawn attention to the wide variety of global corporate wrongdoing and multi-jurisdictional bribery and corruption investigations he has worked on. It has praised his “incredible depth of experience when it comes to fraud matters, and in particular those with an international element or where the National Crime Agency are involved.’’ The 2023 edition calls him “one of the most well-respected names’’ in the legal world and emphasises his abilities in emerging areas such as SPACs and cryptocurrency fraud.

Syed is also in demand to work on cases where there is the possibility of securing a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) for clients. The Legal 500 has noted Rahman Ravelli’s expertise in advising on DPAs and recognised that Syed “goes the extra mile to get the best results for his clients in leading on a multi-jurisdictional matter concerning this area”.

His recent work has involved global energy sector corruption allegations, major financial services cases, fintech companies and many of the most complex worldwide asset recovery cases.

I am a partner within our forensic and investigations practice, and lead our digital forensics group. Our team of expert practitioners provide computer forensic, eDiscovery, data analytics and cyber response services across the globe.

I specialise in supporting bribery, corruption, competition law infringement and complex fraud investigations. I am an expert in data governance and have led data collection exercises across the globe. My team utilise cutting edge technologies, coupled with defensible methodologies to achieve timely and cost-effective solutions across the EDRM and the investigation lifecycle.

My team lead on complex data breach response activities and consults on international cyber-attacks and defending businesses from hackers. We are often engaged to address, investigate and provide regulatory responses on the very largest data breaches made public (1 billion+ records).

I have given evidence on crypto-currency forensics, computer forensics, data breach and data record identification and recovery, data segmentation and many other areas of corporate and data governance.

Prior to joining the firm, I trained as a barrister, worked in private legal practice, acted as a regulator at the Financial Conduct Authority and led the digital forensics practice of a boutique firm.

I co-authored the new Civil Procedure Rules on document disclosure (CPR 31B) and the protocols applied in the Technology and Construction Courts. I am a regular public speaker and author on digital investigations. I’m an avid technology enthusiast and passionate about the opportunities of the digital age!

Zulfi has in-depth expertise when it comes to all aspects of corporate crime investigations.

He represents corporates, board members, senior business figures and high net worth individuals. His clients rely on the extensive experience he has gained as both a defence lawyer and a financial crime prosecutor.

Zulfi spent five years as a criminal defence practitioner before then working for six years as a senior investigative lawyer at the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. At the SFO, he worked on some of the most notable and highly-publicised investigations and prosecutions; many of which involved some of the world’s best-known corporates and financial institutions. The cases ranged from banks seeking international financing and alleged multinational corruption by companies, through to fraud and money laundering on a global scale and the collapse of financial investment funds.

Zulfi is known for his ability to manage major cases where Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) arrangements are relied on to secure information from another country. His SFO work on cases involving search warrants, production orders, section 2 notices and letters of request, and his first-hand knowledge of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement procedure make him an asset for clients in the most involved investigations.

As a member of Rahman Ravelli’s corporate crime practice group, Zulfi is recognised as an exceptional white-collar crime lawyer and an obvious person to defend clients in multi-jurisdictional, high-profile and complex investigations. He is someone who can manage each and every aspect of such cases, as he has a thorough understanding of complex economic crime investigations, serious regulatory matters and a wide range of industrial and professional sectors.

His management of civil and regulatory proceedings that can run alongside a criminal investigation has shown his ability to devise and coordinate the most appropriate strategy for any situation a client may face. The ease with which he deals with agencies such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the National Crime Agency (NCA), the City of London Police, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and international organisations means he can tackle each and every issue that may arise in an investigation.

He is known for his intelligent management of complex commercial litigation relating to corporate misconduct, having had significant involvement in such cases.

Zulfi is also a member of Rahman Ravelli’s sanctions team. He uses his in-depth knowledge of the UK regime on some of the most notable sanctions cases.

Jamas Hodivala KC is ranked and recommended by Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 in the areas of Business and Regulatory Crime, Health & Safety, Environmental Law and Professional Discipline.

He is particularly instructed to advise and assist corporate clients from the early stages of an investigation, and has the specialist skills to represent such clients throughout all stages of the investigation or prosecution.

He can act with, or lead, a team in cases that often involve an international element including serious fraud, bribery and corruption, money laundering, restraint, confiscation and civil recovery proceedings as well as regularly being instructed in investigations and prosecutions brought by specialist regulators such as the Health & Safety Executive, the Marine Management Organisation, the Environment Agency, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Jamas offers specialist advice and advocacy in areas of criminal law that often overlap with public law, such as challenges to the use of investigatory powers by regulators and prosecutors, where early advice can be vital to the future shape of an investigation. He brings a range of specialist knowledge in different areas to help clients achieve the best possible result and is sensitive to the complex non-legal issues that often arise as a result of representing corporate clients.

Jamas is a Grade A prosecutor for the HSE, EA and ORR.

He accepts instructions on a Direct Access basis.

He is also instructed to represent professionals facing disciplinary proceedings and has appeared in the General Dental Council, General Optical Council, General Medical Council, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal the Police Disciplinary Tribunal, the England & Wales Cricket Board, the FA Appeals Board and in Rule K arbitrations, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Jamas has considerable experience in proceedings in the Divisional Court, Court of Appeal House of Lords / Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

William Barry is the Chair of Miller & Chevalier's 40-person Litigation department. He is a trusted advisor to multinational companies, boards of directors, foreign trustees, hedge funds, private equity funds and senior officers and executives. For more than 25 years he has solved complex problems involving multi-jurisdictional investigations and litigation, as well as enforcement, compliance, and transactional issues. He helps his clients emerge from crises and resume focus on their business. Client feedback in Chambers USA describes Will as "the kind of person that everyone in the boardroom listens to" and notes he is "a very thorough thinker, very calm, and is the ideal ambassador for corporations when dealing with government agencies."

Will guides clients through the complex issues involved in responding to inquiries from domestic and international regulators regarding accounting fraud, foreign bribery, money laundering, economic sanctions, and other financial crimes. He represents clients faced with the challenge of responding to competing demands in parallel proceedings, such as internal reviews, government investigations, and private civil actions. He oversees multi-jurisdictional litigation matters, providing strategic oversight, directing local counsel, and ensuring a coordinated approach. 

Will has been recognized repeatedly by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, Legal 500, Who's Who Legal, and other respected legal publications for his expertise in white collar defense, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation and defense, securities enforcement, and litigation. He has obtained numerous declinations and favorable resolutions for clients involving allegations of non-U.S. and U.S. corruption, financial fraud, money-laundering and economic sanctions violations, insider trading, and securities and tax fraud. 

Will is a member of the American Bar Association's (ABA) International Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Committee and International Anti-Corruption Committee. He has been designated as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).

Will is a member of the board of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and the former Chairman of Olney Boys & Girls Club, a non-profit sports association in Maryland.

Elena Fedorova specializes in civil fraud/asset recovery, recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and foreign judgments, complex cross-border civil matters, and criminal proceedings. Elena often intervenes in cases involving former Soviet Union countries. At Bonifassi Avocats, which she joined in 2014, Elena represents BTA Bank of Kazakhstan as a civil party in the criminal investigation against Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is accused of defrauding the bank of $7.5 billion in one of the largest known frauds ever perpetrated. Elena also counsels the English trustees of Boris Berezovsky’s estate to recover assets he beneficially owned in France. She handled the recognition in France of a $200 million US judgment involving a bad bank, and civil fraud litigation for asset recovery involving complex corporate structures in offshore jurisdictions. Elena successfully defended a $50 million arbitral award in setting-aside proceedings with fraud allegations. She often obtains evidence in France for domestic and foreign civil proceedings. She contributed to several complex actions to recognize and enforce foreign judgments, including many against sovereign entities, along with related asset recovery.