CHARLES SALMON QC

Practice

A leading and highly experienced criminal defence silk, who has appeared principally as an advocate but also in an advisory capacity in many of the famous high profile cases over the last decade and more. He has exclusively defended since taking silk

His back catalogue is impressive and second to none. Barlow Clowes, BCCI, Richmond Oil and Gas, Maxwell, Brody and others (one of the first major dot com frauds) and Selby and others (one of the largest pension frauds which resulted in questions in parliament and a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry). He has appeared over the years in many of the largest VAT and Customs and Excise Duty Evasion prosecutions from Hare wine, the first major prosecution of its type to operation Inertia. He has also appeared in a number of substantial money laundering cases for example and more recently he represented Terry Adams, a defendant in one of the largest money laundering cases to date, alleged by the prosecution to have been head of the biggest and most prolific crime family this country has ever seen.

He often appears in cases prosecuted by the SFO and regularly appears in cases with a substantial international element.

Charles Salmon QC is associated with the following areas of expertise:

Crime
Fraud & Financial Litigation
Restraint, Confiscation & Asset Recovery

Directories

Recommended as a leading silk in crime and fraud in Chambers and Partners 2013 and The Legal 500

“exceptionally good” when it comes to criminal fraud work, and has an impressive track record in large-scale VAT fraud.

Cited in Chambers and Partners Guide for “his experience in the field and attention to detail” and as “hardworking, dedicated and impressive”. He is described as “bold, decisive and a brilliant tactician who is extremely thorough in his preparation”. He has vast expertise in high profile cases. Solicitors say that he is also “a fantastic negotiator and very eloquent in court”.

"works tirelessly"
"very considered and incisive advocate."
“careful advocate who is very tactically aware and never one to make a careless mistake”
“a great touch with juries”

He is further cited as a leading silk in The Legal 500 where he is noted for his “excellence” in the criminal fraud arena. He is one of the top fraud silks in the country, specialising in fraud & financial regulation.

Cases

Proceeds of Crime Act

• R v Terry Adams: Represented Terry Adams in relation to a number of allegations of money laundering in what has been described as one of the largest and most detailed cases in British history.  It was alleged that Adams was the head of one of the most successful criminal families this country has ever known.
• R v Lee Doran: (part of Finch and others) one of the largest money laundering cases.
• R v Gomez: A leading money laundering case involving Colombian drug cartels.

Fraud and Financial Regulation

• Operation Amazon - Allegation is a major tax fraud. This is a category 1 fraud thus marking it out as rare in terms of detail, complexity and international dimension. Seven year investigation by a special commission, culminating in the charging of a number of defendants on charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.  The first prosecution of its kind.  The defendant is one of a number of defendants who were involved in the new market of green energy and carbon offsetting by reforestation in China, Brazil and other countries. Trial due to take place September 2013.
• R v Chahal & Others (Operation Tulipbox) - Category 2 fraud four month trial concluded in June 2013, with ongoing confiscation proceedings. The trial was the first time carbon credit as a commodity which attracted VAT was charged as a fraud.Trial concerned the manipulation of the EU Emissions Trade Scheme in order to perpetrate a Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud. The EUETS was set up pursuant to the Kyoto Protocol as part of the process to help reduce “Green House Gases” (GHG). The EUETS regulates trade in carbon allowances or “credits”. Carbon credits are financial instruments which are measured in tons of carbon dioxide. IT is thought that the enterprise evaded payment to the UK Treasury of VAT in the sum of about £38 million. A substantial portion of the profits obtained from the fraud was removed from the jurisdiction and transferred to bank accounts in Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. A large number of companies in the UK and on mainland Europe were involved in the trade which formed the subject matter of this case. Some of them are large “blue chip” companies which had a genuine commercial reason for buying carbon credits.
• R v W - Three quarters of a billion pounds of mortgages in order to buy major properties in which British government were sometimes tenants.
• R v S (Operation Inertia) - a case described by the HMRC as "the biggest ever case of its kind", involving an alleged £160 million MTIC fraud. Trial early 2011.
• R v Faichney -Instructed to represent principal defendant. This was the prosecution of two accountants who were part of the Vantis Group.
• R v H (Operation Exhort) - Linked mortgages and insurance fraud. 42 handed fraud involving car insurance and mortgage fraud.
• R v Smith Wilkinson and others: Representing the principal defendant in the fraudulent flotation of a public company (Richmond Oil and Gas). (SFO prosecution).
• R v Marshall Ronald: Representing the only defendant in a conspiracy to defraud American investors out of thirteen billion pounds.  Regarded as so serious that a senior representative from the American Federal Reserve gave evidence for the prosecution. (SFO prosecution).
• R v John Brody: Representing one of the principal defendants (managing and financial director) - defrauding shareholders in two floated companies - first major dot com fraud. (SFO prosecution).
• R v Haroon Khatab: A substantial fraud on American professionals, principally doctors and lawyers involving the sale of wines as investments, some individuals invested up to $500,000 representing a loss of their life savings.  Mr Salmon QC conducted most of the cross-examination of the losers as Khatib was the principal salesman.  The case was closely followed by the American Authorities particularly the FBI. (SFO prosecution).
• R v Hare Wines: First of the large alcohol diversion frauds.  Represented the first defendant in the first trial, as a result was asked to represent the first defendant in the second trial.
• R v Ellis Martin: Represented first defendant – one of the largest and most notorious diversion frauds organised from prison by the defendant who was serving a substantial sentence for a previous diversion fraud.
• R v Amsbury: - £80m diversion fraud.
• R v Gary Massingham: Involved hiring of prestige cars and building of conservatories. (SFO prosecution).
• R v Marsden: Main defendant in a conspiracy to defraud the Civil Aviation Authority. (SFO prosecution).
• R v Selby and others: One of the principal defendants in a conspiracy to steal the pension fund from a large Birmingham company resulting in a question in Parliament and a Parliamentary inquiry. (SFO prosecution).
• R v Darwishalii: VAT fraud.  Alleged loss was £100 million.
• R v Christine Davenport: Representing the UK Financial Director of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the UK who was charged with corruption and overstating sales by £20 million for the purpose of enhancing the share value in anticipation of a merger. (SFO prosecution).
• R v AJ - One of the largest illegal DVD manufacturing cases.  The case against the defendant depended on a highly detailed complex statement from the crown’s forensic accountant.
• Representing the principal defendant in the fraudulent flotation of a public company (Richmond Oil and Gas). (SFO prosecution).

Crime

• R v Huggins: The case was multi handed and drug related, the allegation included torture and a sustained attacked with a claw hammer. The defence was based wholly on a cut throat attack on the second defendant.
• R v Tefsamichael: Murder at a nightclub in the heart of the City of London.  An attack led by the first defendant which resulted in the death of the victim.  One of the biggest investigations in the City of London, involving extradition of the first defendant from the USA. One of the principal cases to test anonymity orders for witnesses.  As a consequence of the skeleton the prosecution abandoned a substantial part of their anonymity application.
• R v Hyde: First and principal defendant – part of a substantial drugs ring.  Infiltrated by undercover police; 14 months of taped conversations – conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
• Warren Dawes: Principal importer of multi-million pound consignments of cocaine from South America to UK via Estonia. Defendant organised Estonian end of journey.
• R v Manjit Ray: Largest and most expensive murder hunt to date in Hampshire – cut-throat defence with husband.

Associated Work

Professional Memberships

• Criminal Bar Association
• South Eastern Circuit
• Proceeds of Crim Lawyers Association (POCLA)
• Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
• Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA)

Contact

T. 020 7067 1500
E. csalmon@25bedfordrow.com