Over recent years the government has made the prosecution of business crime and fraud a priority.

Allegations of business crime and fraud can have a serious impact on your business’s operation and reputation and it is vital to ensure authoritative and specialist advice from the earliest possible stage to help you negotiate the many challenges you will face.

The business crime solicitors drawn from Simply.Law’s membership provide a comprehensive and authoritative service for clients facing challenges related to this area of the law, whether they themselves have been accused of fraud or inappropriate financial conduct, or whether, conversely, they believe that they have been the victim of some form of business crime. Our member solicitors are able to represent both individuals and companies.

The benefits of advice

A specialist business crime solicitor can help you protect your assets, as far as possible, from confiscation while also managing your reputation in a discreet and efficient way at a time of considerable difficulty and challenge.

There are many ways to effectively defend unwanted and unwarranted allegations or, in cases where the evidence is overwhelming, to minimise damage by achieving the most desirable outcome possible in the circumstances.

Effective strategies may include the recruitment of independent expertise to benefit the defence, the intelligent use of forensic accounting or the employment of the latest computer analysis techniques.

Other strategies may include the seeking of a judicial review, challenges to the legality of an order or examination of whether there has been any abuse of the judicial process. Whatever the circumstances, it always helps to think creatively about all possible routes to settlement of a case. In many cases this may mean avoiding litigation in preference of some other form of negotiation, for example, a Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

In the event that a case does progress to the point where it comes before the courts, Simply.Law’s member solicitors will take every possible step to defend the client’s interests by offering practical and invaluable support, right up to the highest courts in the UK, the EU and elsewhere.

Whoever you are and whatever the charges, investigations or allegations you face, Simply.Law’s members can help. Our membership includes solicitors who have extensive experience defending the following:

• Directors
• Shareholders
• Executives
• Senior managers
• Employees

How Simply.Law’s member lawyers can help

Simply.Law’s member solicitors are at the cutting edge of business crime and regulatory enforcement law and can advise and represent on the full spectrum of legal issues, including those that relate to the following:

• Money laundering
• Fraud
• Bribery
• Market abuse
• Director’s disqualification
• Health and safety offences
• Motoring offences
• Tax evasion and HMRC investigations
• Environmental prosecutions
• Breach of fiduciary duties
• Allegations of corporate manslaughter

Experience of all agencies

Simply.Law’s member business crime solicitors deal with the full range investigations and prosecutions in the area of business crime. This means that our member solicitors can assist in cases relating to investigations or prosecutions from all conceivable agencies, including the following:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• The Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
• The Environment Agency (EA)
• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
• The Police
• The National Crime Agency (NCA)

Fraud

Simply.Law’s members can advise on investigations and prosecutions in relation to all aspects of business fraud. This includes offences under the Fraud Act 2006 such as allegations of the following:

• Fraud by false representation
• Failure to disclose information
• Abuse of position
• False accounting
• Advance fee fraud
• Tax fraud
• Mortgage fraud
• Identity fraud

Fraud cases are rarely straightforward and usually rely on large amounts of complex and technical and data-rich documentation.

Mounting a successful case, whether on the part of the defence or the prosecution, requires patience, knowledge and skill. Lawyers need to be able to act with clarity and precision in order to best advance the interests of their clients.

Urgent assistance

In some cases clients facing allegations of business crime will require urgent assistance to help them defend their rights and reputations.

Simply.Law’s member solicitors can help in matters related to the timing, nature and disclosure of police interviews as well as matters related to police arrest and the client’s rights to bail

Furthermore, our members can assist with matters related to search warrants and property seizure, investigation restrictions and, where appropriate, the management of media coverage.

Business crime solicitors

Simply.Law’s member business crime solicitors can help you manage the financial and reputational impact of allegations of business crime in an intelligent and informed way.

We can provide access to specialists who act for both individuals and corporate clients and can assist with all matters relating to business crime, regulatory investigation and allegations of corruption, fraud, tax evasion, insider dealing and Companies Act offences.

Choose one of the contact options listed on this page to find out more.