Mark Rainsford KC

Notable Cases

2022-2023

• Instructed to represent the Independent Commission Against Corruption in constitutional proceedings before the Supreme Court of Mauritius.

• NMC PLC: representing an individual banker in connection with the administration of a FTSE 100 healthcare company that collapsed after its shares were shorted by a New York hedge fund.

• Representing a French investment banker, tried in absentia, in connection with role in alleged money laundering, following a $101m fraud against a Dutch billionaire.

• Re: a crypto exchange v. a police force: representing the police in resisting applications by a crypto assets trading platform to set aside account freezing orders and in extant forfeiture proceedings.

• In re: restrained crypto assets: representing a HNW third party individual seeking to recover £18m in Bitcoins that are affected by restraint proceedings;

• Instructed in ongoing restraint proceedings regarding £48m assets belonging to a holding company and several HNW individuals.

• Standing Counsel advisory role in relation to a principal in the 1 MDB sovereign wealth fund investigations.

• Successfully advising and representing a former Chief Investigator of the SFO in connection with ENRC proceedings against the SFO.

• Successfully defending the directors and beneficial owners of a UK based MSB, arrested for allegedly laundering £1 billion in cash. Complex legal representations were made as to why there should be no charges against the directors and the case was dropped after a 4 -year police investigation.

• Successfully prosecuting a FTSE 250 company in relation to regulatory breaches.

• Representing two individuals in relation to a civil dispute between a FTSA 100 company, the SFO and a City law firm.

• Instructed by a foreign government in an overseas "Kleptocracy" asset recovery case.

2019-2021

• Successfully defending a director of a major retail bank facing an internal investigation into fraud allegations and following extensive investigations by the police and the bank. The case was NFA'd after detailed representations were made as to why there should be no charges.

• Defending a private banker indicted for money laundering allegations in relation to the alleged theft of €100m.

• Representing the former CEO of a foreign exchange company, managing internal investigation, and providing pre-charge advice in relation to an ongoing investigation concerning suspected large scale investor fraud.

• Advising the chairman of a plc in relation to restraint proceedings and providing pre-charge advice in relation to the London Capital Finance fraud case and London Oil & Gas PLC.

2018 and earlier

• Successfully defended Hong Kong businessman James Sutherland, chairman of a large group of fiduciary companies, securing his acquittal as the main defendant in a criminal trial on money laundering charges concerning $120m proceeds of a boiler room fraud.

• Advisory role in connection with Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) v. Société Generate, a $2.1 billion claim in relation to a series of disputed trades, including derivatives, before Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.

• Pre-charge advice to the directors of an MSB under investigation in relation to suspected money laundering offences.

• Advising the former managing director of a group of MSBs in relation to an allegation of the laundering of £700m.

• Advising an investment bank in relation to and internal investigation regarding financing the acquisition of overseas mineral extraction rights.

• Successfully defending and securing the acquittal of John Robert Manning, former senior partner of a large commercial law firm, on trial for major corruption charges.

• Advising a claimant in relation to a £50m civil fraud claim arising from alleged LIBOR rigging by a bank.

• Advising the CEO of a hedge fund in relation conflicts of interest and the fiduciary duties of company directors.

• Representing a major business advisory and accounting firm in respect of the wholesale illegal acquisition of confidential information ultimately sourced from public officials in multiple jurisdictions; advising on the internal investigation, self -reporting and negotiating with the SFO.

• Representing the Ministry of Environment of a European sovereign state when their stock exchange was compromised by cyber-hackers; shares were switched to the London Stock Exchange and spot trading commenced; obtaining emergency freezing injunctions and Norwich Pharmacal orders.

• Defending a London Finance House in civil fraud proceedings concerning a £10m cash advance fee in connection with a $105m loan.

• Advising a former Northern property tycoon and one- time championship league football club director in relation to Insolvency Act offences.

• Advising the Board of a Global multi-national group of companies in relation to suspected payments to foreign military officials. Heading the internal investigation and advising on criminal liability and whether to self-report.

• Defending a City of London law firm and several partners in civil fraud proceedings and also a proposed private prosecution following the alleged theft of many millions of pounds from a client account of funds destined for the acquisition of a US listed company. Providing strategic advice resulting in extinguishing the claim.

• Representing the Lithuanian state in obtaining external restraint orders over the property of a well-known Russian oligarch.

• "EastEnders": Mark obtained management receivership and restraint orders over the assets of a group of companies with an annual turnover of £140m. This followed a criminal investigation into the activities of two of the shareholders.

• Headed an internal investigation on behalf of a property developer into alleged corruption of the Prime Minister, Deputy Minister and Minster for Planning of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Mark negotiated the first civil recovery order and immunity from prosecution agreement following a Commission of Inquiry and political corruption investigation.

• Defended a director of a substantial company, facing charges which alleged that through the company’s trading with European suppliers millions of pounds in excise duty and VAT had been evaded. The case involved complex and detailed arguments concerning abuse of the process of the court.

• R - v - Rastogi: Leading counsel for the former Chairman and CEO of RBG Metals plc. in £1.2 billion hidden assets confiscation proceedings. This related to a multi- billion-pound fraud on lending institutions in Europe and the USA and resulted in an order for the defendant to pay £20m.

• Defending in major diversion fraud. The case was dropped following submissions relating to abuse of process in the context disclosure failings.

• Recovered £5m from a serious acquisitive criminal following his conviction for money laundering offences and obtained the first Financial Reporting Order applied for by the Metropolitan Police.

• Successfully defended an international law firm in connection with illegal facilitation payments.

• R – v – Simons. Leading Kennedy Talbot in hidden assets confiscation proceedings following the conviction of the defendant in two missing trader vat frauds with a combined revenue loss of £50 million.

• Successfully defended an international corporate law firm following a dawn raid on their premises upon an allegation that they made facilitation payments to overseas foreign officials in order to speed up routine visa applications made on behalf a global accounting firm. Leading the internal investigation and preparing and presenting a successful rebuttal.

• Advising the former non-executive chairman of an AIM listed company following unproven allegations of breach of fiduciary relationship.

• R –v – A. Recovering £5 million of assets from the head of a serious and acquisitive criminal gang in confiscation proceedings, working with the Specialist Crime Directorate at New Scotland Yard. The case concerned extortion, blackmail, drugs trafficking, carousel fraud, money laundering and many other crimes.

• Leading two junior counsel prosecuting a £55.5 million missing trader intra-community carousel fraud.

• Successfully defended the principal defendant in two separate trials in Grand Cayman.

• Leading counsel for the appellant tried in the first MITIC Vat fraud. Successfully argued that following a trial lasting six months, the judge had invited unjustifiable adverse inferences from the evidence to be drawn against the defendant.

• Instructed for the Respondents in an appeal following conviction for a £20 million diversion fraud case. Alleged revenue loss in region £200 million.

• Prosecuted the first agricultural flat rate addition fraud.

• Retained by the Attorney- General in an overview role concerning London City Bond. This followed the discovery of serious disclosure failures in fraud cases. Reviewing the safety of convictions in 44 major fraud cases.

• Successfully defending an arms dealer in relation to the importation into Heathrow Airport of military grade machine guns

• Advising a global multinational company in the luxury goods sector in relation to serious breaches of AML compliance.

• Defending the chairman of a marketing and advertising agency in the Abbey National Bank nine -month corruption trial at the Central Criminal Court. The issues included commercial public interest immunity and breach of fiduciary relationship by a director.