Sam Healey and Ellie Dales have successfully secured the acquittal of a client who was alleged to have assisted in a conspiracy to defraud the government of millions of pounds through money laundering and other behaviour. 

The prosecution alleged that the client was part of a group of individuals who submitted fraudulent claims and committed money laundering to secure funding from the government. The funding related to a three-year government-backed engineering project to design and build a machine that would automate the process of repairing aeroplane turbines, the cost of which ran into the millions. The charges included fraud by abuse of position, fraud by false representation, possession, and control of articles for use in fraud, and money laundering.

Sam and Ellie worked tirelessly to complete a detailed analysis of the prosecution evidence and undermine the case presented. Following this, strategic representations were made to the Crown Prosecution Service, applying considerable pressure in relation to disclosure requests. The team also made tactical decisions in relation to the instruction of independent experts. This process allowed the team to highlight significant weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. This ultimately led to a decision being reached to offer no evidence against our client and formal not guilty verdicts were entered on the court record.

This was a complex case given the vast size of the prosecution case, the number of parties allegedly involved and that the allegations were said to have taken place over a three-year period. The team were required to make careful and tactical decisions regarding disclosure, experts and other important evidence. The team are delighted to have secured this outstanding result for the client, who endured over four years of investigation and the ongoing criminal proceedings. The team worked alongside instructed counsel, Katherine Kelleher of 36 Group Chambers.