
University of Hull, LLB (Hons) (1993)
Ian is a leading financial crime, crime and regulatory barrister and is recognised as a leading individual in those fields in Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.
His practice can be divided principally into 4 main areas but there is a considerable overlap between the practice areas that he specialises in.
Firstly, Ian is a Leading Junior in heavyweight criminal work and defends and prosecutes in equal measure across a wide range of serious organised criminal activity – homicide, firearms, drugs and armed robberies.
Secondly, in financial crime matters Ian has specialised for many years as Leading Counsel in the fields of MTIC VAT fraud, Direct Tax Fraud, Money Laundering, False Accounting and Corporate Misfeasance.
As regards his regulatory work, Ian has been appointed to the Specialist Regulatory Panel of Counsel and prosecutes and defends in equal measure in the regulatory field concentrating upon health and safety, environmental and information law. He also acts for the General Medical Council in disciplinary tribunals.
Finally, Ian also has a substantial practice in the niche areas of cyber crime and data protection work, particularly excelling in cases with a technical angle. He advises individuals and companies in relation to criminal and regulatory proceedings as well as acting in major data breach civil litigation for claimants and defendants.
Ian also practises from 7 Harrington St Chambers, Liverpool.
Crime
Ian is a highly regarded and sought after Leading Junior in Crime and has been recognised as such for several years in Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.
He advises clients at all stages of criminal proceedings, from pre charge to the appellate stage, has an extensive advisory practice and is a skilled advocate before juries, tribunals and the appellate courts.
He defends as well as prosecutes in a wide range of serious criminal matters including gang related homicide, serious sexual offences, large scale drugs and firearms conspiracies, corruption cases and armed robberies.
He has developed an extensive knowledge of disclosure, covert surveillance, jurisdictional issues and a detailed understanding of the principles surrounding the court’s discretionary powers to exclude evidence and stay proceedings.
Current and Recent Cases:
Financial Crime
Ian is a highly regarded and sought after Leading Junior in Financial Crime, Crime and Regulatory work.
He advises clients at all stages of criminal proceedings, from pre charge to the appellate stage, has an extensive advisory practice and is a skilled advocate before a jury, tribunals and the appellate courts.
Ian has extensive experience in all matters relating to commercial fraud and other financial misconduct in particular MTIC Vat Fraud, Direct and Indirect Tax Fraud, Money Laundering and False Accounting.
He has advised companies and individuals in relation to tax investigations conducted by HMRC concerning MTIC fraud as well as advising individuals and companies upon their rights to challenge HMRC findings in the Tax Tribunals.
He also has a detailed knowledge of all aspects of restraint and confiscation law, civil asset recovery and asset tracing and has advised individuals, companies and prosecuting authorities (the Police, the CPS, SFO and BIS) in this area as well as lecturing in the U.K. and Off Shore. Ian advises also in the niche areas concerning the challenging of search warrants, production orders and privilege related issues.
From a regulatory perspective, Ian is experienced in advising companies and individuals on issues of compliance, money laundering regulations and fiduciary duties of directors and the consequences arising for directors through disqualification. His work off shore has principally concentrated upon these issues.
Ian specialises in the developing area of Private Prosecutions and advises corporates and individuals in relation to the use and deployment of private prosecutions where there has been financial misfeasance or fraud committed. Linked to this field is his work in advising corporations on internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings.
Ian has been ranked as a Leading Junior for several years in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for his work in crime and financial crime as well as his regulatory practice. He has been appointed to the specialist prosecutorial lists in fraud, serious crime, confiscation and regulatory law.
Recent and Current Cases:
Data Breach & Privacy
Ian is instructed on a regular basis to advise and represent a wide range of clients, including individuals, directors and companies, in relation to criminal and civil investigations by the industry regulator (the ICO); advisory and compliance issues and the developing area of data litigation in all its forms.
He is a much sought after leading practitioner in the field of data breach claims for individuals and companies whom have had their personal and sensitive data lost or breached by third parties.
An area of particular interest to him is the development and expansion of representative actions and group litigation in the data breach field and he is presently instructed in several actions as Led Junior Counsel.
Having developed specialist expertise in “right to be forgotten” claims, Ian was also recently instructed to represent a former European politician in a claim against Google.
Ian has put together a team of lawyers and cyber security experts to develop civil fraud claims arising from crypto currencies and other cyber based fraudulent activity. In addition, he is at the forefront of developing models to protect and manage the reputation of leading individuals and corporates.
He has written several articles on data protection and the new digital age and has delivered lectures and video briefings on the subject as well as commenting in the media on recent developments.
Environmental Regulation
Ian is a specialist regulatory and corporate defence barrister with significant experience in all aspects of corporate crime and regulatory law.
He has been appointed to the Specialist List of Regulatory Counsel to prosecute cases of a complex nature in this field but is also instructed by individuals and companies to advise and represent in a diverse range of complex regulatory matters.
He particularly specialises in cases involving waste disposal and waste management license regulations. Ian’s experience in criminal law means that he is well placed to deal with large POCA cases which invariably follow in these types of cases.
He has also lectured to planning enforcement officers in relation to confiscation and the financial aspects of the investigation process.
Ian is recognised as a leader in the regulatory field and is listed in the Legal 500 as a Leading Junior in the area of regulatory law.
Health & Safety
Ian is a specialist regulatory and corporate defence barrister with significant experience in all aspects of corporate crime and regulatory law with a specific emphasis on health and safety litigation.
He has been appointed to the Specialist List of Regulatory Counsel to prosecute cases of a complex nature in this field but is also instructed by individuals and companies to advise and represent in a diverse range of complex regulatory matters. The following areas are of particular interest to Ian:
Ian is recognised as a leader in the regulatory field and is listed in the Legal 500 as a Leading Junior in the area of regulatory law. Illustrative cases include:
Commercial Fraud
Ian has extensive experience in all matters relating to commercial fraud and other financial misconduct in particular MTIC Vat Fraud, Direct and Indirect Tax Fraud, Money Laundering and False Accounting.
He also has a detailed knowledge of all aspects of confiscation law, civil asset recovery and asset tracing and has advised individuals, companies and prosecuting authorities (the Police, the CPS, SFO and BIS) in this area as well as lecturing in the U.K. and off shore as well as writing articles in this field.
From a regulatory perspective, Ian is experienced in advising companies and individuals on issues of compliance, money laundering regulations and fiduciary duties of directors and the consequences arising for directors through disqualification.
Linked to his extensive data protection practice (Civil, Regulatory & Crime), Ian is presently instructed in several substantial push payment fraud cases and advising on SIM Swap fraud cases for a leading national firm
Ian has been ranked as a Leading Junior for several years in Chambers & Partners for his Criminal Commercial Fraud work and is rapidly increasing his cyber civil fraud practice. Some recent cases include:-
Commercial Fraud
Cyber Fraud
Financial Regulation
List B Specialist Regulatory Panel
Level 4 Specialist Serious Crime Group Panel (CPS)
Level 4 Prosecutor General Crime Panel (CPS)
Level 4 Specialist Proceeds of Crime Panel (CPS)
Level 3 Specialist Fraud Panel (CPS)
Specialist Rape Panel (CPS)
Disclosure Counsel for Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
Licensed Advocate Isle of Man (2012)
Visiting lecturer at the University of Lancaster
Ian has written several articles on the issues of financial crime and the criminal justice system which are listed below. Links to the full-text of all of these can be found using the links below:
Investigatory Powers Act and the new oversight regime
Consumer rights and slow-running Apple software
Data breaches, vicarious liability of employers and the impact on the insurance industry
Data Protection Day—enforcement of Corporate Crime – corporate crime enforcement in light of the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
Pension Liberation Fraud: New Kid on the Block
Chatrooms and 21st Century Insider Dealing
A Practical Guide to POCA & Unused Material: a defence perspective
Assessing the impact of R (Virgin Media) v Zinga
Is a cheque book better than a defence statement
Law & Democracy
A Taxing Time Ahead The Reality Behind The Rhetoric
May 2018
European Commission proposes new measures to tackle e-crime
In an article for Lexis PSL, Ian Whitehurst considers the new proposals set out by the European Commission designed to ‘curtail the space in which terrorists and criminals operate’. To view the full text of the article click here This article was first published on Lexis®PSL ...
read moreFebruary 2018
Swatting conspiracy charges dropped
Ian Whitehurst instructed by Gary Broadfield at Cartwright King represented a young man accused of being part of a wide ranging online conspiracy involving participants around the globe. The investigation centred around the activities of the hacking group Lizard Squad, and in particular on a ...
read moreJanuary 2018
Reduced financial penalty and costs in environmental prosecution
Ian Whitehurst represented a waste company that successfully appealed a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency. The waste company had been convicted of dumping construction waste on farmland in Cumbria without a licence. Following the appeal, the penalties imposed were reduced by ...
read more