FRAUD & FINANCIAL CRIME. Expert Solicitors in serious or complex fraud

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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO)is an independent Government department responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious or complex fraud, and corruption.  The Serious Fraud Office has jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not in Scotland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

We have at our disposal expert forensic accountants and professional investigators and lawyers to investigate and defend the most serious or complex instances of fraud and corruption. It is imperative that you partner with a firm with expertise that can counter that of the SFO. At SJ Law, you will be represented by some of the finest criminal legal minds in the country. With a background of Banking and Financial Services Law and an ability to advise on fine black letter law with access to the countries best experts in their field – we will tailor a team specific to your particular circumstances.

The SFO are able to use their special legislative powers to obtain the evidence needed to build cases and it is therefore imperative that your chosen firm be in a position to oppose or resist attempts to obtain evidence unfairly or even unlawfully.

Fraud & Financial crime specialist solicitors.  The Central Fraud Division (CFD) was established within the Crown Prosecution Service in April 2010,  as a result of the merger of the Fraud Prosecution Division and Revenue and Customs Division of the CPS. The Central Fraud Division was set up to provide a specialist prosecution and advisory service for complex, sensitive and high value fraud cases throughout England and Wales and for all fiscal fraud and export control cases Investigated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The Central Fraud Division (CFD) divides its work into two broad categories: fiscal and non-fiscal.

Fiscal crimes generally involve activities such as tax credit fraud, direct or indirect tax evasion, excise duty fraud and Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud (MTIC, also known as 'carousel fraud').

Non-fiscal crimes, generally involve activities such as taking money directly from others. The CPS will often site common examples as pyramid schemes or allegations of mortgage frauds. Fraud cases that are complex, sensitive or have a value of more than £1 million are dealt with by the CFD. Other fraud cases are handled by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Areas. In either case, SJ Law are experts in defending such allegations.

The CFD also deals with other non-fiscal crimes such as illegal arms trafficking, sanctions violations and money laundering.

Although the Division's formal take-up criteria is a provable loss of £1million there are additional factors which may make the case suitable for CFD to take on, including:

- difficult corruption and bribery cases, especially concerning public (including foreign public) bodies or officials (other than the police, which are referred to the Special Crime division)

-  cases where local concern makes it appropriate to refer the case outside the area

- frauds on the governments of other countries

- cases where widespread concern makes it appropriate for the CFD to co-ordinate and set standards

- difficult cases requiring specialist knowledge such as Stock Exchange practices, regulatory bodies, complex banking issues, shipping law etc

- complex and high value "boiler room" and "Ponzi" frauds, and

- significant money laundering connected with fraudulent activity.

You will need a firm that is equipped and able to deal with the challenges brought by these cases and to counter the expertise that the Crown Prosecution Service have tried to put together in the Central Fraud Division. At SJ Law, you will find specialists in defending a wide range of fraud and fraud-related crime, much of which is international, serious and highly complex. 

Should you feel that you may be investigated for any of the above or even if you just need advice to ensure that your activities do not fall, contact Rob Johnson today for a no obligation consultation.

Serious or Complex Fraud - An Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) is a legal tool that requires individuals to explain the origin of assets that appear disproportionate to their known income. This tool is used primarily to tackle suspected money laundering and to combat corruption.

UWOs were introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and are particularly useful for authorities when dealing with politically exposed persons or individuals involved in serious crimes. If the individual fails to provide a satisfactory explanation for their wealth, or if they provide false or misleading information, their assets can be seized by law enforcement agencies.

UWOs are significant because they shift the burden of proof to the asset holder, rather than the authorities having to prove the assets were obtained unlawfully. This makes it easier to act against assets in the UK that might have been acquired through corrupt means internationally. The use of UWOs is monitored to ensure they are applied fairly and do not breach human rights.

Before an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) can be issued in the UK, certain legal requirements must be met. These include:

 1. Property Value:

Fraud & financial crime specialist will advise that the property in question must have a value greater than £50,000. This threshold ensures that UWOs are used for significant cases of suspected unlawful conduct.

There must be reasonable grounds to suspect that the known sources of the lawfully obtained income of the person who holds the property would have been insufficient for the purpose of enabling the person to obtain the property. This is a key criterion as it targets discrepancies between declared income and owned assets.

Persons involved in serious crime (or connected to such persons)**: This includes both individuals suspected of involvement in serious crimes within the UK or elsewhere, and those connected to them.

In the context of issuing Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) in the UK, a "serious crime" is defined broadly and refers to an offence that falls under the definition provided by the Serious Crime Act 2007. Specifically, for a crime to be considered "serious" for our purposes of applying a UWO, it typically includes, but is not limited to, offenses that money laundering, tax evasion, and other economic crimes where large amounts of money or substantial assets are obtained unlawfully.