Kingsley Napley 24 HOUR SEARCH Civil Fraud and Investigations "An exceptional team" Chambers and Partners, 2020 Home Services Dispute Resolution Civil Fraud and Investigations Our established and highly experienced team of specialist civil fraud lawyers can help to find, preserve and recover stolen money and assets around the world. The cost of fraud to businesses and individuals runs into billions of pounds each year. The international nature of commerce and increased reliance on electronic communications means that there has been a sharp increase in the number and value of fraud claims. We act for both the victims of fraud and the defendants to civil fraud proceedings. Our Partners are ranked both as a team and individually in the legal directories, Chambers and Partners and Legal 500. When fraud is suspected or discovered, the first steps are critical. At short notice, we can assemble a multi-disciplinary team to advise on all aspects, regardless of the scale and reach of the issue, providing swift strategic and tactical advice. We have wide experience in conducting internal investigations where the fraud has been perpetrated by someone within your company. For fraud matters that have a criminal aspect, we are uniquely placed to draw upon the expertise of our second-to-none criminal fraud team. For victims of fraud, we have experience of finding, preserving and recovering stolen money and assets around the world and have regularly advised on seeking and obtaining freezing injunctions to preserve such assets. For defendants who are accused of fraud, we have defended allegations on some of the biggest fraud cases to date involving freezing (and other) injunctions. We often work alongside our Criminal and Employment departments in matters that involve such implications. WE HAVE ACTED ON HIGH PROFILE AND IMPORTANT RECENT FRAUD CASES INCLUDING: WHAT CLIENTS AND DIRECTORIES HAVE SAID For more information, read our frequently asked questions on civil fraud vs criminal fraud disputes and details regarding supervising solicitors. +44 (0)20 7814 1200 Contact the team Richard Foss Partner and Head of Department Email Richard William Christopher Partner VIEW FULL TEAM Let us take it from here CONTACT US or call 020 7814 1200 they are nimble, fast and responsive, and able to make decisions very rapidly." Chambers and Partners, 2020 a big team of well-recognised players in the market" who are "strong on civil fraud." Chambers and Partners, 2020 They have strength in depth, with associates and partners who have a wide range of experience," adding that the lawyers are "easy to work with, dynamic and creative." Chambers and Partners, 2020 It's a really strong team there. Ours was the type of job where you'd need to be creative, robust and we couldn't have just said 'this smells a bit, let's issue proceedings,' because we didn't have enough. However, Kingsley Napley found all we needed." Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2020 It's strength in numbers there. It's not one or two stars, they have a broad spectrum of people who know what they're doing. It was startling how quickly they can pull things out of the bag." Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2020 The team has a good mix of intellectual and commercial capability, knowing when to push hard and when to step back and take a longer term view of matters. Faced with an apparently intractable problem, they manage to achieve solutions that work for the client and ensure that continual delays sought by an opponent in an effort to grind their clients down are not countenanced, rather are effectively blocked" Legal 500, 2020 Latest blogs & news Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q3 2021 A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (3rd quarter 2021) READ MORE ... Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q2 2021 A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (2nd quarter 2021) READ MORE ... Causing Loss by Unlawful Means - the Dealing Requirement In the recent case of Secretary of State for Health (“NHS”) v Servier Laboratories Ltd (“Servier”), the Supreme Court considered whether in cases involving loss caused by unlawful means, the unlawful means must have affected a third party's freedom to deal with the claimant. This is known as “the dealing requirement”. READ MORE ... Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q1 2021 A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (1st quarter 2021) READ MORE ... Current trends in fraud: Crypto scams Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was an incredible year for crypto assets. Largely driven by the increased demand from institutional investors, Bitcoin shattered its previous price records. However, its pseudonymous nature and the ease with which it allows users to instantly send funds anywhere in the world makes crypto assets appealing to criminals. READ MORE ... One hand in the cookie jar: Fraud and directors’ duties in insolvency What happens when a director commits fraud by misappropriating company assets? Or what of the director who continues trading knowing that the company has no realistic prospect of paying its debts as and when they fall due? To whom does a director owe duties at that point and what recourse is there against that director? This article explores these questions. READ MORE ... Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q4 2020 A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (4th quarter 2020) READ MORE ... Directors’ communications with their solicitors: perhaps not as privileged as you think (Part 2) In the recent case of Barrowfen Properties Ltd v (1) Girish Dahyabhai Patel (2) Stevens & Bolton LLP (3) Barrowfen Properties II [2020] EWHC 2536 (Ch), the High Court extended the iniquity exception to breaches of a director’s statutory duties. READ MORE ... Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q3 2020 A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (3rd quarter 2020) READ MORE ... Preventing, detecting and responding to fraud within charities The Law Society Gazette and Third Sector recently reported that a number of charities, including Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Yorkshire Cancer Research, the British Heart Foundation and the National Trust, issued a claim against a former solicitor, Linda Box. They claim to have been deprived of a legacy gift from a Will of which she was the co-executor. Box was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017, having admitted to 12 offences of fraud, theft and forgery while working as a senior partner at a firm of solicitors in Wakefield, having stolen approximately £4 million. The fraud is said to have been conducted using a process known as “teeming and lading” whereby money is moved between client accounts to hide a shortfall or theft. READ MORE ... Court makes Search Order in COVID times A search order, made pursuant to section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act 1997 and CPR Part 25, is one of the most draconian orders the English civil courts can make. No Respondent really wants a search team to enter their premises but because of Covid -19 the search team is even less welcome than usual. READ MORE ... Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q2 2020 A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (2nd quarter 2020) READ MORE ... Back to the drawing board: Do I have to re-plead/re-prove my case? In a recent case, Ward & Ors v Savill [2020] EWHC 1534 (Ch), the judge had to grapple with the question - can a claimant rely on an earlier judgment granted in one case involving different parties to enable it to bring a new claim against a different defendant without having to re-plead and prove the facts and matters it relied on in the first case? READ MORE ... All swans are white….? I have always had a soft spot for the Black Swan jurisdiction: nothing to do with the law, but because it reminds me of my previous study of philosophy and the use of “all swans are white” as an example of falsification theory. READ MORE ... Fraud Unravels All? In the recent case of Georgallides –v- Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2020] EWHC 768 (Ch), the High Court grappled with the question of how the maxim “fraud unravels all” should apply to disqualification undertakings given pursuant to Section 8A of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (“the CDDA”). READ MORE ... How to guard against and respond to fraud in the charity sector It has been widely reported that fraudsters are currently seeking to exploit the situation with COVID-19. Alarmingly, Action Fraud reported an increase in coronavirus related fraud by 400% in March. In this blog we outline some of the critical questions, which all charities, irrespective of size and stature, should be asking themselves to identify areas of risk and detect fraud and how to best respond if the charity has been a victim of fraud. READ MORE ... The Maserati Fraud In the recent case of Sell Your Car With Us Limited v Sareen [2019] EWHC 232 (Ch) the Insolvency Court were asked to determine whether the ultimate victim of an email hacking fraud, Mr Sareen, was liable in contract and/or tort to Sell Your Car With US Ltd (the “Company”) for causing the fraud by failing to take reasonable care over the security of his emails and/or take reasonable control over his email security. READ MORE ... ‘Courier’ Fraud Crackdown – Beware of fraudsters keeping it simple February 2020 - Police say they have arrested more than 40 people in a crackdown on courier fraud involving over 3,000 victims. Police have reported that there has been a recent significant increase in these cases with total losses reported to the police of over £12 million. There are reports of individuals losing significant sums of money to these scams, such as a couple losing nearly £1million of their life savings and pensions and one victim losing £400,000. READ MORE ... What is required to prove contempt of court? Applications in the civil courts for contempt of court are becoming more regular and we have previously written blogs on this topic : It's only a court order, who cares? - Contempt of Court & Contempt of court: the prospect of prison, even before proceedings are issued. READ MORE ... Banks to tackle fraud by introducing extra checks on transfers From 31 March 2020, the UK’s six largest banking groups will start checking whether the name entered on a bank transfer matches the names of the recipient bank account. It is hoped the move will combat transfer scams and errors and make it less likely customers’ money ends up in the wrong hands. READ MORE ... CIVIL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS FRAUD Related pages Fraud - Defendants We have developed tried and tested strategies to enable us to work with you to discharge injunctions and to defeat fraud allegations. Fraud - Supervising Solicitors At Kingsley Napley we have substantial experience of obtaining, executing and supervising search orders at commercial and residential premises. Fraud - Victims Our considerable experience in pursuing fraud related claims means that we understand the need to act swiftly and provide sensible, strategic advice. Fraud - Civil vs. Criminal FAQs Read about the differences between civil fraud and criminal fraud in these informative frequently asked questions Insolvency Litigation Our dispute resolution lawyers represent individuals, companies and insolvency practitioners on insolvency matters. Serious Fraud Defending complex white collar cases successfully is what we are known for. The firm has the largest team of specialist criminal lawyers in the UK. Commercial and Contract Disputes Corporate disputes can be stressful, disruptive and damaging. We provide tactical and strategic advice to businesses and individuals. Dispute Resolution Dealing with a dispute professionally and commercially takes skill. We assist and support our clients with both legal knowledge and strategy. Financial Services Disputes We represent individuals and businesses in high value and complex claims against banks and financial institutions. News and blogs BLOG Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q3 2021 Mary Young BLOG Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q2 2021 Mary Young BLOG Causing Loss by Unlawful Means - the Dealing Requirement Anna Metadjer LOAD MORE Let us take it from here. +44 (0)20 7814 1200 enquiries@kingsleynapley.co.uk CONNECT WITH KN LINKED IN TWITTER SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LIST Kingsley Napley Legal Notices Privacy Notice Fraud Warning Modern Slavery Statement Complaints Website Terms Cookie Policy Accessibility Site Map © Kingsley Napley LLP. All rights reserved. Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, registration number 500046.