Stephen Harvey KC

Much of Stephen's recent criminal fraud practice has involved advisory work at an early stage of an investigation. When defending, he has sought to influence its course and to negotiate a favourable outcome for the client. In this role Stephen has dealt with the major investigating bodies including the Serious Fraud Office (using its wide-ranging powers) and the Financial Services Authority in its regulation of financial markets as well as large-scale fraud inquiries by the police and the CPS.

• R v AB – Represented a bank manager who had spent some years defrauding his bank using ‘ghost’ accounts and other devices to conceal and move monies around.
• R v J – Financial Services Authority prosecution of a large insurance brokerage and allegations of misappropriated premiums. Case involved ‘early day’ successful appearances in the Chancery Division in respect of a number of world-wide injunctions granted to the investigators.
• R v M – An insurance company fraud involving substantial amounts of monies being syphoned off through a complex trail of bank accounts throughout Europe.
• R v W – A substantial VAT ‘carousel’ fraud brought by HMRC involving cross-jurisdictional transactions, money laundering and a ‘supergrass’.
• R v G – A fraud involving the creation of a company to act as a vehicle for the sales of vast quantities of stolen specialist building materials from the company employing the defendants.
• R v H – A six-figure fraud on an international leasing company by the ‘creation’ of assets against which funds were borrowed.

Proceeds of crime and money laundering:

• R v M – A large conspiracy to steal and distribute prestige cars throughout Europe with the proceeds being passed through a network of bank accounts.
• R v C – An international conspiracy to supply drugs and launder the proceeds through bank and building society accounts in the UK and in Spain.
• R v B – Successfully retained the clients financial interests in a property in the face of the prosecutions claim that all the property should be the subject of confiscation.

Corruption:

• R v A – Represented a senior tax investigator employed by the Inland Revenue who was acquitted upon all allegations of corruption after an inquiry lasting 4 years and a trial lasting 3 months.

Espionage:

• R v M – Successful defence of an army major charged with spying.