Max Mills

Business Crime & Financial Services

Max specialises in Business Crime and Financial Services. He brings to this area of practice his experience of working at an international commercial law firm and in-house at a FTSE 250 company. Max is able to provide strategic advice to individuals and corporate clients facing the full spectrum of criminal and regulatory action in the financial sphere.

Notable cases:

Credit Suisse

Instructed by the Bank of England as an Investigator in an investigation into Credit Suisse for significant failures in risk management and governance in connection with its exposures to Archegos Capital Management. Max’s role included conducting interviews with senior individuals involved in the client relationship and participating in month-long settlement negotiations with the legal representatives of Credit Suisse and UBS (which acquired Credit Suisse in June 2023). Credit Suisse was fined £87m, the largest ever imposed by the PRA.

Operation Adonis

Led junior, representing an investment fund director in a £4m binary options trading fraud in a six-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Operation Totem

Instructed by the Serious Fraud Office as Deputy Lead Disclosure Counsel in the prosecution of three investment fund directors for fraudulently running a Cayman-based legal financing fund which, at the time of collapse, owed investors £120m.

Standard Chartered

Instructed by the Bank of England as an Investigator in an investigation into Standard Chartered for failing to be open with the PRA in respect of a tailored PRA liquidity expectation. Max acted in all the settlement negotiations with SC’s representatives and SC was fined £46.5m, which – at the time – constituted the largest fine imposed in a PRA-only enforcement case.