Sam Healey and Helen Kelsall represented a client and secured their acquittal after a 7 day trial at Inner London Crown Court.

The fraudulent funds obtained were from an international bank who, upon instruction from their client (a merchant shipping company), transferred the full funds into the wrong bank account, from which it was suggested that the first defendant and others transferred the proceeds internationally.

One of the recipients of those funds was our client, who owned his own jewellery business. Notwithstanding the suggestion by the prosecution that our client must have known or suspected that the funds received to his business account was the proceeds from criminal conduct, we were able to show that he ran a legitimate business at the time of the transfers and that he neither knew nor suspected the origin of the funds was from criminal conduct, or that this was an attempt by the first defendant and others to launder the proceeds of crime.

Accordingly, our client was acquitted and the first defendant will be sentenced at a later date.

Sam Healey and Helen Kelsall instructed Jonathan Underhill at 3BP Barristers.