Harry Bentley’s areas of practice are Criminal Defence, Regulatory & Gambling Law and Professional Discipline.
He has been involved in many high profile, complex and serious prosecutions both as both leading and junior counsel. His experience in Crime includes multi-handed murder trials, terrorism, investment fraud, drug importation, cheating the revenue and serious sexual offences.
Harry has particular experience in conspiracy allegations ranging from conspiracies to cheat the public revenue, murder, steal museum artefacts, control prostitution or evade immigration controls through to conspiracies to import industrial amounts of cocaine. He is currently involved in a number of cases arising from Operation Venetic’s exploit of the EncroChat telecommunications system.
His experience in Regulatory law ranges from defending individuals in proceedings brought by the Environment Agency to advising companies on the Gambling Act 2005 or animal welfare regulations.
In professional disciplinary proceedings he both presents and defends. He has significant experience presenting on behalf of Professional regulators such as the National College of Teaching and Leadership (as it was then) and has presented on behalf of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He has also defended in Teaching Regulation Agency proceedings as well as having been regularly instructed on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing in Nursing and Midwifery Council proceedings.
Harry is ranked as a leading junior in Crime for both Chambers UK and Legal 500.
One of Harry’s main practice areas over the years has been serious fraud. He has experience in complex confiscation proceedings in both negotiated settlements and contested hearings.
R v R
£21m conspiracy to cheat the public revenue through the VAT & Construction Industry Scheme.
R v H
£1m conspiracy to cheat the public revenue through the sale of counterfeit tobacco.
R v S
£750,000 conspiracy to defraud investors in a diamond investment scheme.
R v H
£1.7m conspiracy to defraud investors in a fraudulent carbon credit scheme.
R v P
Multi-million pound conspiracy to defraud investors in a land banking scheme.
R v N
Multi-million pound conspiracy to defraud HMRC through the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
R v W
£23m conspiracy to defraud investors in a bio-fuel investment scheme involving Jatropha plantations in Cambodia.
R v M
Multi-million pound MTIC fraud.
R v C
£1m conspiracy to defraud investors in a fraudulent en primeur wine investment scheme.
Harry has appeared in many high-profile serious crime cases including several murders and conspiracies.
R v H
Multi-handed revenge murder of a drug dealer in Leicester.
R v DR
An Operation Venetic prosecution of an Organised Crime Group operating in Sussex & Kent to supply hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.
R v KR
An Operation Venetic prosecution of an Organised Crime Group operating in the Ipswich area with a nationwide operation distributing cocaine and cannabis.
R v J
Student charged with possession of neo-Nazi terrorist manuals. His suspended sentence after trial was referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient by the Attorney General. The judge’s sentence remarks gained media attention when he was encouraged to read classic literature.
R v M
Former soldier charged with having explosive substances, encouraging terrorism, disseminating terrorist publications and possession of terrorist documents. The defendant operated a neo-Nazi Telegram channel. Counter terrorism officers found plans for 3D printed firearms and other weapons at his home on arrest.
R v E
Charges of encouraging terrorism contrary to section1 Terrorism Act 2006. The Libyan defendant suffered from mental health difficulties arising out of the pandemic and events from his childhood in Libya.
R v WB
Conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit GBH. The case had its roots in gang crime and was one of a number of tit-for-tat murders and violent assaults in Salford, Manchester. Previous incidents had included the murder of Paul Massey who was standing for Mayor of Salford and a grenade attack on a family’s home.
R v T
The defendant was accused of murdering his disabled mother and dismembering the body by decapitation while suffering from a drug induced psychosis. Extensive psychiatric evidence was called over a number of days by both the prosecution and defence.
R v I
The defendant was one of six individuals involved, in the mass manufacture and production of anabolic steroids, in specialist laboratories within the UK.
One of the largest slavery prosecutions in the UK. The case involved allegations starting 25 years ago made by multiple vulnerable complainants.
Murder and dismemberment of a police officer. The two men had met over the social media app Grindr before the murder. The case received a large amount of media attention.
R v F
Conspiracy to steal ancient Chinese jade and Rhinoceros horn artefacts from museum across the UK.
R v TJ
Conspiracy to control prostitution arising out of one of the most popular internet-based escort agencies in the North of England.
Harry Bentley, leading Emma Kutner of 2 Bedford Row, represented an individual accused of introducing…
Narita Bahra QC and Harry Bentley instructed to defend in a Murder where understanding cross…
The prosecution offered no evidence at trial, in a case where Narita and Harry’s client…
