Speaker Biography
Andrew’s practice encompasses all areas of asset recovery, both criminal and civil. He has extensive experience of proceedings at all levels from first instance to the House of Lords (Supreme Court) concerning the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986, the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. As well as proceedings relating to the making and enforcement of confiscation orders, Andrew regularly appears for and advises third parties, both corporates and individuals, caught up in proceeds of crime-related proceedings, whether due to the imposition of a restraint order or in the context of receiverships, and has appeared in many of the significant cases concerning civil recovery orders under POCA.
He is ranked in tier 1 for POCA and asset recovery work by Chambers and Partners 2012, and is an editor and contributing author to Smith, Owen and Bodnar on Asset Recovery, published by OUP, as well as lecturing both in the UK and internationally.
Andrew also has a significant practice in fraud, both civil and criminal. In the criminal context he regularly deals with cases concerning money laundering, corruption, insider dealing and corporate criminal liability in the regulatory context. He has been ranked as a leading junior in Fraud: Criminal by both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 for some years, and in 2009 was appointed to the Serious Fraud Office’s A Panel of Junior Counsel. In the civil context he has experience of asset-recovery related proceedings in insolvency and debt recovery, together with applications for freezing orders, search orders and contempt of court in support of such proceedings. He has a good working knowledge of investment funds and other financial services, and their regulation by the FSA.
Andrew is frequently briefed in cases with an international element, including questions of international law and conflict of laws, and cases raising the compatibility of asset forfeiture legislation with fundamental human rights. Over the last year alone he has been involved in cases involving over 20 jurisdictions. He is sometimes briefed to “ghost write” submissions for courts in other jurisdictions, including jurisdictions as distinct from each other as Jersey and Hungary.
Andrew has a working knowledge of French, German and Hungarian.