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Education

1974 LLB Hons. (Leeds)

Practice

Specialist defence advocate with a varied and wide ranging practice extending over all types of criminal cases and disciplinary proceedings.

Extremely experienced in dealing with highly involved and complex cases, including murder, terrorism and all areas of commercial, corporate and financial crime, incorporating SFO prosecutions and high value confiscation, asset recovery and restraint proceedings.

Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory work includes representing both individual and corporate respondents and high value VAT Tribunal work.

George Carter-Stephenson QC is associated with the following areas of expertise:

Crime
General Fraud
Regulatory and Disciplinary
Terrorism
White Collar Crime

Cases

Money Laundering

All the below have involved fundamental human rights issues into detention and interrogation as well as an effect on Article 6(1) Rights to a Fair Trial. All of the defendants were held in maximum security.

 

  • R v Ellis & Others Professional money laundering converting the cash proceeds of crime into foreign currencies for transmission abroad. Virtually all the MTIC carousel frauds have involved money laundering charges.
  • Operation Euripus Highly significant MTIC fraud with the largest ever losses to HMRC. Currently estimated at £250m with money being siphoned  off to various countries including UAE, Hong Kong and Pakistan. Extremely complex money laundering operation associated with this fraud.
  • Operation Vaulter Money laundering - UK companies via Tanzania.
  • Operation Campaign Use of Hong Kong 'hexagon' banking system of worldwide distribution of fraudulent profits (Dubai, Asia, Malta).
  • Operation Dunaway Money laundering via Spain, Switzerland and Hong Kong.
  • Operation Emersed Money laundering - routing money via Hong Kong & Dubai companies.
  • Operation Shepherd Money laundering aspects involving the placing of fraudulent profits in an off-shore employee benefit scheme trust.
  • Operation Duma Money laundering via UK and Dubai companies. The investment of fraudulent profits into property in Dubai.
  • Operation Ventford Multi million £ identity fraud. Money laundering in countries including Spain, Monaco & the Cayman Islands.

Other Conspiracies to defraud

  • Operation Slick Involved the routing of money via Malta, Jersey, Austria & Andorra. The acquisition of property and business interests in Gran Canaria.
  • Operation Felbella International commercial mortgage conspiracy with money laundering aspects featuring Hungary, Greece, Monaco, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Phillipines & the UK.
  • R v De Laurey Money laundering allegations involving proceeds of crime into high value assets in the UK & Cyprus.
  • Operation Amazon Carbon credit fraud involving allegations of money laundering via Holland, Switzerland, Cyprus and the conversion of the proceeds into properties.
  • Operation Digits Construction industry fraud and the conversion of proceeds into UK property assets.

 Human Rights

  • R v Camberwell Green Youth Court ex parte DG (House of Lords) A precedent case establishing that a young defendants right under the Human Rights Act is not automatically infringed by evidence being on video & via video link. George Carter-Stephenson QC co-defended with the current Director of Public Prosecition, Keir Starmer QC.
  • K Substantial legal arguments following threats to kill the defendant for the hearing of his evidence in the absence of the public & the press. There were also bad character applications in relation to the defrauded financial institution.
  • Criminal Cases Review Commission - Carl Morgan Infringement of human rights in relation to manipulation & police corruption on the witness.
  • R v I & Others Involved legal arguments concrning the interrogation and detention of the suspect at Paddington Green police station and the initial denial of access to a solicitor. This case also involved equality of arms issues in respect of the defence ability to obtain expert evidence in relation to explosives.

Fraud and Financial Regulation

  • R v K (Operation Felbella)- SFO prosecution concerning the fraudulent obtaining of commercial mortgages to the value of £850 million pounds. Trial due September 2011.
  • ML v HMRC - First Tier Tribunal.  £2million pound claim for input tax refused on the basis the appellant was involved in MTIC fraud. Trial fixed for January 2011.
  • Operation Slick – £30 million "boiler room" allegation prosecuted on behalf of the FSA by the Fraud Prosecution Service. High pressure telephones sales techniques to the public over various jurisdictions, alleged activity is over a number of years, representing defendant 1 of 5.  Trial scheduled for January 2011.
  • Operation Digits – instructed in a VAT fraud concerning the construction industry.  Massive payroll fraud where VAT is being charged for cash in hand work forces,
  • Operation Exhort – Linked mortgage and insurance fraud.
  • Operation Vaulter – MTIC fraud, approx £20 million
  • Operation Euripus - highly significant MTIC fraud with the largest ever losses to HM Revenue & Customs, currently estimated at £250 million with money being siphoned off to various countries including the UAE, Hong Kong and Pakistan. Extremely complex money laundering operation associated with the fraud.
  • Operation Duma - an unusual MTIC fraud where many of the deals involved are between family owned and operated companies with losses to HM Revenue & Customs estimated at £45 million.
  • R -v- W - FSA prosecution – serious shares fraud estimated at £28 million.
  • R -v- Pigott (Operation Campaign) – £40 million MTIC Fraud utilising the Hexagon, the Hong Kong developed computerised banking system, with funds being distributed to Dubai, Malta and Asia.
  • R –v- Baillie (Operation Shepherd) - MTIC Fraud. £60 million.
  • R -v- Woolley (Operation Dunaway) - An MTIC fraud involving the evasion of £38 million of VAT
  • R -v- Lynch (Jockey’s case) – Allegations of fixing horse races involving the jockeys F Lynch, Kieron Fallon and D Williams. Case stopped on submission of no case to answer.
  • Husband of Joyti de Laurey (R v De Laurey) husband of the Goldman Sachs secretary found accused of stealing £4.5 million from her bosses.
  • R -v- Maruszak - High Yield Investment Programme fraud of £16 million.
  • R -v- Ellis & Others - Professional money laundering business involved in £18 million loss.
  • R -v- Pigott - Confiscation
  • R -v- Woolley – Confiscation
  • R -v- Richards - Charity Fraud “Friends of Yours” which purported to collect money on behalf of special care baby units by way of donations but only a minute proportion of collected monies was ever sent to the special care baby units.
  • R -v- Gwyn Jones (Operation Emersed) - MTIC Fraud. Six defendants including a former telecom company director charged with involvement in a £40 million carousel fraud. Widely reported in the national press. This trial began in 2005 with multiple linked cases still ongoing. A scheduled BBC Panorama programme halted the trial while proposed injunctive proceedings to discharge the Jury were considered by Judges and defence counsel.

Terrorism

  • R-v-R & Others: the 'dirty bomb case'. The UK’s largest ever terrorist plot involving plans to cause large explosions on tubes under the river, flooding the tube network and plans to blow up stretch limousines in underground car parks of key financial buildings.
  • R-v-I & Others: defendant alleged to be a 'failed suicide bomber' from 21st July 2005. The first ever prosecution of failed suicide bombers.
  • R-v-A & Others: prosecution offered no evidence in the 'Ricin 2 terror' case. Alleged Muslim fundamentalist plot to poison an infinite amount of innocent civilians. 

Crime

  • R v John Terry  (Chelsea and England Captain) charged with racially aggravated harassment.
  • Criminal Cases Review Commision - Carl Morgan - (member of the So Solid Crew) challenging the murder conviction on the basis of the unsatisfactory nature of the evidence based on police corruption and anonymity in the light of the House of Lords ruling R v Davies -[2008] UKHL 36 (on appeal from: [2006] EWCA Crim 1155).
  • R -v- Jermey – Murder of partner by strangulation, pouring petrol on her, setting the house on fire and then calling 999.
  • R -v- M & Others - the extremely high profile murder of former heavyweight boxing champion James Oyebola who was shot and killed in a Fulham nightclub following a request to customers to refrain from smoking. A case with considerable media interest.
  • R -v- K & Another - the husband and wife murder trial alleging the killing of a neighbour in a garden in Mitcham, South London, who was attacked with a cutlass, a golf club and a snooker cue following an argument over a child's football.
  • Damilola Taylor - first murder trial no further evidence offered against defendant after legal argument.
  • R -v- Vincent & Others - Megaman gang death - trial one & trial three defended So Solid Crew founder member, Megaman, on a charge of murder.
  • R v Camberwell Green Youth Court ex parte D and G (House of Lords) a precedent case establishing that a young defendant's right under Article 6 of the Human Rights Act is not automatically infringed by evidence being on video and via video link.
  • R -v- Mulcahy - multiple murder and 13 rapes (partner of the infamous “Railway Rapist” John Duffy).
  • R -v- Adams & Others - The Millennium Dome Robbery attempt to steal the 203 carat 'Millennium Star Diamond' from the Millennium Dome.
  • R -v- Jethoo Samurai Sword murder- manslaughter after causing the death of the victim in Waltham Cross town centre.
  • R -v- Shingadia (Arsenic Poisoner), involved the systematic poisoning of girlfriend by arsenic.
  • R -v- Whyte - a fire bomb attack of a rival gang's house which resulted in two deaths.
  • R -v- Franklin - the execution style murder in a scrap yard followed by the killing of the victim's friend who witnessed the attack.
  • R -v- Hanson - a mugging which escalated to a fatal stabbing.
  • R -v- Nelson - a playground fight which resulted in fatal stabbing.
  • R -v- Hasan - killing of QPR youth squad player, schoolboy Kyan Prince. Trial 1 & 2.
  • R -v- O’Boyle - Ex IRA member hired to assassinate London gang boss.
  • R -v- Hourigan - series of cases involving armed robberies. Defendant acquitted.
  • R -v- Baldry - Drugs supply case in which the first case was aborted due to material non disclosure. Prosecution then offered no evidence and a substantial wasted costs order was made against the CPS.
  • R -v- Kubilay - series of multi-million pound heroin importations.
  • R -v- Yildrim - Multi million pound heroin importation.

Regulatory and Disciplinary

Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory work has included the infamous “Redgrave” case which featured in the Graeme McLagan book “Bent Coppers” involving a four year police inquiry and ultimately disciplinary charges arising from the corruption of a CPS employee to obtain confidential documents whilst under suspension.

Professional Memberships

  • Criminal Bar Association
  • European Criminal Bar Association
  • Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA)
  • Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)

Directories

Recommended as a leading silk in crime and fraud in Chambers and Partners, and the Legal 500.

"The main star of the set"
"I have never seen anyone prepare as ferociously as he does"
"Formidable advocate"
"Is succinct and has a great way with juries."
"Combines a down-to-earth manner with a ‘street-fighting’ approach."
"An absolute workhorse who is superb at pretty much everything he does,"
“a deadly cross-examiner” , who "without question is one of the best and most hard-working silks in the country."
"almost a legend now"
"a real fighter and a great performer"
"excellent judgement and passionate dedication to his cases"
"a man with phenomenal capacity for work who has a tremendous amount of information at his fingertips"
"immensely hard-working and knows every page of his brief"
"a forceful fellow who is no shrinking violet"
"fabulous, very methodical, a great advocate"

Contact

T: 020 7067 1500
E. gcarterstephenson@25bedfordrow.com