Christopher Gillespie

Business Crime & Financial Services

Chris is instructed to defend in all types of fraud including land banking, so-called “boiler room” fraud, mortgage fraud, internet fraud, tax fraud and money laundering.

In R v Crawley and others (Southwark Crown Court) Chris as leading junior successfully defended his client, the only defendant to be acquitted by the jury, on a charge of conspiracy to defraud in respect of a land banking scheme brought by the FSA in its biggest prosecution to date.

Chris has also recently secured the acquittal of a well-known Norwich businesswoman on six counts of cheating the revenue in relation to £360,000 of unpaid VAT, PAYE and NI. In the last few years Chris has acted for a number of defendants charged with tax fraud and in each case has either secured acquittals or low sentences and appropriate confiscation orders.

Cases

R v Negus & Others

Leading junior in mortgage fraud.

R v Finch & Others

Leading junior in banking fraud.

R v Place & Others

Prosecution junior to Malcolm Swift QC in what judge described as “industrial scale” internet fraud.

R v Smith & Others

Junior to Trevor Burke QC in multi-million pound VAT/money laundering.