Fraud defence solicitors

Allegations of criminal fraud can have serious consequences for individuals, directors and businesses, including criminal prosecution, regulatory action, reputational damage and financial investigation proceedings.

Fraud investigations are often complex, document-heavy and fast moving, with enforcement agencies frequently using extensive powers to obtain evidence, freeze assets and conduct interviews under caution.

We act for individuals, company directors, professionals and businesses defeding against fraud allegations and investigations. Our team provides strategic, commercially focused advice from the earliest stages of an investigation through to interview, charge, trial and appeal. We have a proven track record of representing clients, whether defendants or directors and companies having to deal with ciminal fraud, in high-value and reputation-sensitive cases.

The team is led by George Kampanella, who has extensive experience advising clients in serious and complex fraud and financial crime matters. George and his team are based in our Central London office but advise clients throughout England & Wales and internationally. Taylor Rose has nearly 20 offices nationwide.

Who We Act For

We advise:

• Company directors and shareholders

• Senior executives and employees

• Entrepreneurs and business owners

• Financial and regulated professionals

• Corporate entities

• Individuals facing investigation or prosecution for fraud offences

Our Criminal Fraud Expertise

We advise on a broad range of fraud and dishonesty allegations, including:

• Fraud by false representation

• Fraud by abuse of position

• Fraud by failing to disclose information

• Conspiracy to defraud

• False accounting allegations

• Investment and financial fraud

• Insolvency-related fraud allegations

• Director and shareholder disputes involving allegations of dishonesty

• Allegations involving misuse of company funds or assets

Many fraud investigations also involve parallel regulatory, civil or insolvency issues which require careful strategic management.

Key consideration if you are being investigated

• Seek specialist legal advice immediately - serious fraud investigations often develop quickly. Early advice can help protect your legal position before interviews take place or investigators have formed firm conclusions.

• Do not destroy, alter or conceal documents or electronic records - this can significantly worsen your position and may itself give rise to further criminal allegations. Preserve all potentially relevant evidence exactly as it is.

• Avoid discussing the investigation with colleagues, employees or third parties - innocent conversations can later become evidence, and discussing events with others may unintentionally influence witness accounts.

• Do not contact potential witnesses to 'clear things up' - attempts to explain matters or coordinate recollections can be misinterpreted as interfering with the investigation or influencing witness evidence.

• Preserve emails, messages and accounting records - accounting software, WhatsApp messages, Microsoft Teams chats, mobile phones and cloud storage may all become relevant. Your legal team can advise what should be retained and how evidence should be preserved.

• Do not volunteer information to investigators without legal advice - cooperating with an investigation is often appropriate, but deciding what information to provide, when to provide it and how to respond to enquiries requires careful consideration.

• Take any interview under caution seriously - an interview under caution is not simply an opportunity to explain your side of the story. What you say, or choose not to say, may later form part of the prosecution's case.

• Avoid making assumptions about the scope of the investigation - what appears to concern one transaction may actually form part of a much wider investigation involving several years of financial records, multiple businesses or numerous individuals.

• Keep detailed records of contact from investigators - make a note of telephone calls, correspondence, meetings and any documents requested. This helps your legal team understand how the investigation is progressing and advise you effectively.

• Be aware of parallel proceedings - criminal investigations frequently run alongside civil matters such as employment disputes, insolvency investigations, director disqualification proceedings and/or regulatory enquiries. Decisions made in one process can often affect another.

Contact Our Criminal Fraud Team

If you are facing a fraud investigation or allegation, obtaining specialist legal advice at an early stage can be critical. We provide clear, strategic and commercially focused representation tailored to the seriousness and complexity of the allegations involved.