Expertise
Richard was called to the bar in 1991. He is a highly experienced insolvency and fraud litigator with over 30 years of practice in this specialist area.
His career has been dedicated to advising and acting for insolvency practitioners across the full spectrum of corporate and personal insolvency matters as part of the Insolvency team. He focuses on the most contentious and complex cases, with particular expertise in large multinational fraud, misfeasance and asset dissipation matters both domestically and internationally.
Over three decades, Richard has developed extensive experience in provisional liquidations, search and imaging orders, passport orders, freezing and proprietary orders, contempt proceedings, public and private examinations, and interim receiverships. This work demands rapid assimilation of complex information and urgent court presentations, while coordinating with clients, counsel and advisors across multiple jurisdictions to deliver effective, aggressive recovery strategies that secure assets and maximise recoveries within the shortest possible timeframes.
In recent years, his practice has particularly focused on cases involving HMRC fraud through umbrella payroll schemes, where losses run into billions of pounds. He has acted in all major reported cases in this area, including Umbrella Care Ltd, Mercy Global Consult Ltd, Scenic International and L&S Accounting Firm Umbrella, alongside numerous ongoing matters.
Richard’s substantial procedural expertise encompasses Insolvency Act applications under sections 234, 235 and 236, tracing claims, and undervalue and preference claims to recover fraudulently diverted funds from both connected and unconnected recipients. He has extensive experience in enforcement proceedings domestically and offshore, including post-judgment freezing orders, third party debt claims, property possession, bankruptcy, liquidations and recoveries from connected individuals.
Richard’s litigation experience spans numerous jurisdictions, including Nigeria, the UAE, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Pakistan, Ghana, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the USA and Curaçao.