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Economic Crime & Fraud legal services

The lasting effects of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and global economic markets in turmoil are leading to an increase in the rates of economic crime and fraud.

Organisations of all types and sizes are susceptible to economic crime and fraud, posing a risk to business – both financial and reputational. 

At DWF we have an unrivalled team of professionals to support organisations facing such risks. 

Our team includes leading expert lawyers, consultants, accountants and analysts able to support your organisation across the full spectrum - from providing assistance in building resilience to complex, cross-border civil and criminal investigations and enforcement cases through to the recovery of funds and assets.

Our solutions encompass market-leading efficient processing, hosting, review and production of the large volumes of documentation associated with litigation, arbitration and investigation matters.

We utilise best-of-breed data analytics, eDiscovery technology, including machine learning and AI, to build an effective document management process that helps you to meet your obligations and puts you in the best position to prevail in the face of adversity.

We can help you to minimise the risks; respond accordingly if the worst happens and recover funds, assets and reputation in the aftermath of economic crime and fraud. 

Our Expertise

Resilience

Our expert advisors can help you stay on top of ever-changing regulations and the battle to protect your organisation against sophisticated and ever evolving criminal activity, including expert assessments of economic crime systems and controls.
 
Resilience

Our Regulatory Consulting team has vast experience and knowledge of the FCA's expectations in respect of economic crime and systems and controls.

Our offering provides a holistic economic crime review or a modular approach, flexed to meet our client's needs or risk profile. Clients can even choose to focus on specific areas where they perceive the greatest risk, or are looking forward to regulatory change. Our assessments include: 

  • Financial crime risk
  • Anti-money laundering (AML)
  • Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC)
  • Fraud prevention policy
  • Market abuse
  • Cyber security

Our Regulatory Consulting Services

Corporate Crime

Our corporate crime team combines lawyers, forensic accountants, regulatory consultants and technology to provide holistic advice to individuals and corporates in mitigating risk and defending investigations.

 
Corporate Crime

Our Corporate Crime offering includes expertise from our advisers including lawyers, forensic accountants, investigators and regulatory consultants. Together, they can help you to:

  • assess and implement fraud protection and prevention frameworks and controls;
  • act appropriately if there is a heightened risk to your organisation; and
  • respond when your organisations falls victim to corporate crime.

We also provide legal advice in relation to:

  • Private criminal defence and police investigations
  • Private prosecutions in the event of a fraud accusation
  • Professional discipline
  • Extradition and mutual legal assistance

We can advise you in relation to your Corporate Crime challenges, especially:

  • Bribery and corruption
  • Serious fraud
  • Proceeds of crime and money laundering
  • Corporate internal investigations
  • Sanctions and export controls
  • Tax investigations
  • Companies Act 2006 offences
  • Market Abuse
  • Insider dealing
  • Benchmark manipulation
  • Criminal cartels
  • Misconduct in public office
  • C-Suite fraud

Our corporate crime services

Large-Scale Fraud & Class Actions

Fraud and class action claims are expected to increase in light of increased volatility, economic down-turn and recent EU legislative changes. We have successfully defend some of the most challenging class actions on behalf of large organisations.
 
Large-Scale Fraud & Class Actions

DWF has acted on behalf of large corporations, examples include one of the world's largest airlines and a large UK supermarket in advising and successfully defending some of the most high profile class actions involving millions of claimants.

DWF’s dispute resolution capabilities are strategically aligned to the exacting requirements of these claims. We are unique in being able to manage the entire class action process globally, from early resolution (where appropriate) to successfully defending claims to the Supreme Court. Led by our team of dispute resolution lawyers and supported by our business services and technology, we can provide significant advantage through our capabilities in handling large-scale, high volume claims process, whilst delivering exceptional results.

Civil Fraud

We have a recognised, leading Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery practice advising on complex, international claimant and defendant cases. We advise organisations and individuals who have been the victims of fraud or been accused of it.
 
Civil Fraud

Our lawyers have extensive experience representing clients around the world in cross-border disputes across the whole spectrum of civil fraud and asset recovery, including:

  • dealing with the consequences of fraud
  • defending allegations of fraud
  • complex multi-million dollar international enforcement
  • recovering assets

Examples of our experience includes:

  • Representing three alleged fraud defendants to the £1.5bn SKAT litigation being pursued by the Danish tax authorities in the English High Court and multiple other jurisdictions in one of the largest cases to come before the High Court in recent years.
  • Instructed by the Ukrainian Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) (administrator of failed banks on behalf of the Ukrainian State) and Delta Bank (one of Ukraine's largest banks declared insolvent in 2015) to manage the international tracing and recovery of $1bn embezzled and fraudulently transferred through a network of offshore companies by the bank's founder and management board.
  • Representing an African bank in seeking to recover in excess of US$750m lost as a result of fraudulently induced investments.
     

Cybercrime

A global threat which is on the rise and becoming increasingly more complex. Our Corporate Crime Team regularly act on behalf of corporates and individuals alleged to have committed or fallen victim to a wide range of cybercrime offences.
 
Cybercrime

Our team includes legal advisers, management consultants, risk professionals, technologists and auditors, who combine to provide truly holistic, cyber security and cybercrime end-to-end solutions.

Cybercrime covers a broad range of offences including but not limited to: hacking, maliciously creating and spreading viruses, using counterfeit or unlicensed software and identity theft.  The technical nature of these offences may mean that corporates and individuals become subject to an investigation without realising that their actions have led to potential criminal liability.

The world of cyber security is one where an organisation's position can be tested regularly by challenge and adverse scrutiny. These tests can occur on a planned or unplanned basis, for benign and malign reasons, through both internal and external channels. Benign, planned, internal testing can include the monitoring of controls by Internal Auditors and others performing risk management and due diligence functions. Malign and unplanned testing often arises from external forces, such as cyber criminals. Others operating along the spectrum of challenge and adverse scrutiny include disgruntled workers, whistleblowers, regulators, shareholder activists, upset customers, compensation claimants and the press and media.

We have broad understanding of the causes and dynamics of challenge and adverse scrutiny. We can help clients plan and prepare for testing situations and guide their responses in live situations, right through to representing their interests in the highest courts in the land.

In addition, our Corporate Crime team regularly act on behalf of corporates and individuals alleged to have committed a wide range of cybercrime offences. Equally, our Civil Fraud Team act on behalf of corporates and individuals who have fallen victim to cybercrime in civil fraud actions resulting in the recovery of stolen funds. There are often multi-jurisdictional challenges to consider which may require expert advice on mutual legal assistance, extradition and cross-border regimes.

Our cybercrime services

Fraud in Insurance Claims

Our heritage is in the insurance industry. With in-depth insurance knowledge, we provide our clients with access to market-leading insurance experts to identify, deter and defend fraudulent claims across all policy classes.
 
Fraud in Insurance Claims

Claim fraud continues to be the insurance industry’s greatest risk, costing insurers billions every year.

Our fraud specialists take a decisive line on your behalf. Our work spans suspicious claims across all policy classes, from motor fraud to high value property and commercial cases, as well as general insurance fraud claims including public liability, household, holiday, PMI and pet insurance fraud.

As well as defence, we also provide strategies to deter and identify fraud more effectively. By combining industry experience and deep knowledge with tech and data-driven software, we are able to identify, collate and convert claims data into evidence.

Our insurance claims fraud specialists detect patterns and link claims, working collaboratively with clients to build winning litigation strategies as well as low cost claimant validation, helping to improve case management. Working for some of the largest businesses and insurers in the industry our clients tell us that our work saves them millions of pounds each year.

Our services include:

Our fraud services

Employment Law and Fraud

Our lawyers are experienced in handling workplace fraud issues, from fabricated representation on CVs to falsification of company accounts.   We advise our clients on how to handle investigations, disciplinaries and tribunal claims relating to fraud.
 
Employment Law and Fraud

Our lawyers and paralegals have extensive experience advising employers on how to handle fraud in the workplace.  We understand the significant impact fraud can have on an organisation from financial consequences to reputational damage. Our services provide end-to-end legal advice relating to fraudulent activity and include:

  • Guidance on how to run an effective investigation, including what steps to take when there is police involvement.  We also advise when suspension may be appropriate.
  • Assistance with disciplinary action, including template documentation.
  • Management of tribunal claims.

We also advise our clients on strategies which help to prevent fraud in the workplace including stringent policies and training.

Our employment services

Tax Investigations and Litigations

The tax landscape is ever-changing and becoming increasingly more complicated. 
 
Tax Investigations and Litigations

Our Tax Team has significant experience assisting clients with a range of tax investigatory matters instigated by HM Revenue and Customs ("HMRC"), from initial correspondence or requests for information, to formal enquiries, discovery assessments, stop notices and seizures of assets. We can also advise those who are accused of using tax avoidance schemes or fraud. 

Where disputes with HMRC cannot be resolved by internal review, we represent clients before the specialist tax tribunals and UK Courts, and can assist with any associated directors' disqualification proceedings and action under the Insolvency Act 1986. 

We also act for importers and exporters of goods on all aspects of their interactions with UK Border Force, including where goods have been detained or seized.

Our specialist team understands the impact of tax investigations and disputes on business operations and on individuals. We provide comprehensive and holistic advice to reduce the risk of litigation where possible, and when litigation is the only viable option, our expert tax lawyers and litigators work together to provide you practical advice.

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Our team

Our Economic Crime & Fraud team comprises lawyers, forensic accountants, investigators and consultants.

Our Economic Crime and Fraud Experts

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