Robert is Head of Mishcon's Fraud Group and specialises in civil fraud, asset tracing and injunctive work. He has acted for both claimants and defendants, obtaining and opposing multiple Search Orders, Asset Freezing Orders and Disclosure Orders in large cross-jurisdictional commercial disputes.
In recent years, Robert has worked on numerous very substantial non-performing loan matters for some of the world’s preeminent financial institutions. He heads the firm's NPL Group. These matters involve claims in the tens of millions, hundreds of millions and billions of pounds and require complex multi-jurisdictional investigations.
Robert is co-head of Mishcon’s Investigations Group. Robert is also part of the MDR Solutions I team, a litigation finance venture offering greater access to funding for claimants.
Robert has also been instructed on several substantial fraud matters involving Cryptocurrency and has been at the forefront in utilising the asset tracing and injunctive toolkit in the crypto context and is a key member of the Mishcon Crypto Fraud Team.
Robert has also been involved in a substantial number of data theft and recovery cases using these civil fraud injunctive procedures. Such cases often involve allegations of breaches of restrictive covenants.
Robert also has a large general commercial litigation practice and significant experience in professional negligence matters, breach of contract disputes and directors and minority shareholder disputes. In addition, Robert has also obtained several anti-harassment injunctions. Robert has written articles concerning various matters including data theft and Search Orders, Asset Freezing Orders and Delivery-Up Orders in property, recruitment and other industry publications.
Robert routinely uses litigation funding on his matters.
Robert is a member of The International Fraud Group.
Key Experience
Asset tracing / Civil Fraud / Injunctive matters
- Frequently obtaining without notice Search Orders, Evidence Preservation orders and Asset Tracing Orders, Freezing Orders and Third Party Disclosure Orders, Passport Delivery-up Orders (and other mandatory injunctions), both in the UK and overseas across multiple sectors. Also acting for defendants opposing such orders.
- Acting for a major European bank in complex fraud claims involving non-performing loans of EUR90m, with claims before the courts in the Cayman Islands, Malta, Canada, and in arbitration.
- Acting for a large European bank in claims under personal guarantees, with a value in excess of USD400m, and advising on enforcement actions around the globe, including in the BVI, Indonesia and Singapore.
- Acting for large bank CIS bank in USD2 billion claim NPL / embezzlement claim across 4 jurisdictions.
- Acting on large fraud / family / probate multiple billion pound dispute across 10 (plus) jurisdictions.
- Acting for large Greek bank in EUR40 million NPL claim.
- Acting for large Kazakh bank in liquidation on USD50 million fraud claim across 3 jurisdictions.
- Acting for Kazakh financial institution in USD40 million embezzlement / fraud matter across 3 jurisdictions.
- Advising large CIS shipping company on USD500 million fraud matter.
- Acting on USD90 million crypto fraud / theft matter against multiple individual perpetrators and two of the world's largest crypto exchanges. Obtained Freezing Injunction and Third Party Disclosure Order in Singapore, a Search Order in Hong Kong and a further Freezing Injunction in Florida in support of the base fraud / conspiracy proceedings in Florida.
- Defending group of trading companies and UBO in claim brought by Trafigura involving allegations of USD600 million fraud claim across 5 jurisdictions.
- Acting for US investors in securing high profile $60 million worldwide asset-freezing/disclosure injunctions before the Courts of the Cayman Islands. The orders are in aid of Florida fraud proceedings against Eike Batista, the former 7th richest person in the world, and the chairman of the oil company, the OGX Group, before its collapse.
- Acting for a subsidiary of a central European bank in urgent injunctive proceedings in the Caribbean, in support of LCIA Arbitrations arising out of a borrower's EUR70 million loan default. The claim followed the collapse of a Russian retailer and interference with the bank's collateral.
- Acting to recover a USD40 million judgment debt, following a judgment for fraud in Florida against a US based oil supplier, including obtaining multiple freezing orders in England, similar relief in parallel the Bahamas and Texas, and orders to secure the contents of a safety deposit box at a luxury London hotel.
- Advising large multinational in an ongoing USD 2 billion claim.
- Secured a multi-million pound judgment and recovery for Mexican drinks company Jose Cuervo by obtaining a search order and freezing injunction. The civil proceedings led to criminal proceedings and a seven year custodial sentence.
- Acting for Greek shipping and media magnate to trace and recover family heirlooms valued at millions of pounds, obtaining disclosure and seizure orders against a London jeweller, an auction house and a safety deposit box facility.
- Acting for Pakistani bank to recover miss-sold investment funds against UK based defendant. Obtained Search Order and Freezing Injunction.
- Acting for high profile Premier League football club to obtain injunction to assist the recovery of several million pounds.
- Acting for high profile Turkish football club on a fraud investigation.
- Acting for Middle Eastern based telecommunications company in multi-million pound cross-jurisdictional fraud claim. Obtaining Search Orders and Freezing Injunctions in support of the claim.
- Acting for an Italian company which had been the victim of a multi-jurisdictional fraud. This case involved complex multi-jurisdictional injunctive relief, including obtaining a without notice Freezing Order and a Disclosure Order against a UK banking institution. Separate legal proceedings were brought in the UK against the sole director of the Defendant for damages for deceit and fraudulent misrepresentation, and a Third Party Disclosure Order was issued in Germany against a company holding information relating to the Defendant. There were also Freezing and Disclosure Orders in Cyprus against a company related to the Defendant.
- Acting as lead global counsel defending allegations of a $200m+ fraud in respect of a multi-national pipe manufacturing company. The dispute was mostly centred in Cyprus, the BVI and England and involved the successful defence of an application for a Norwich Pharmacal third party disclosure order made by a BVI company, against our client.
- Acting on dozens of UK based and multijurisdictional cyber fraud and misappropriation of confidential information matters where Search Orders, Delivery-up Orders, Preservations Orders, Deletion Orders and Prohibition of Use Orders were obtained.
- Representing numerous FTSE 250 and other companies on information theft and covenant enforcement cases, obtaining multiple search orders and delivery up orders in support of those cases.
- Acting on numerous claims concerning team moves and solicitation of clients in recruitment and financial sectors. Regularly obtaining and defending injunctions in relation to those matters.
- Obtaining injunctions against print media organisations preventing publication of confidential material.
- Acting for the victim of a sophisticated cybercrime, which mislead our client to pay the purchase price for a luxury property of $1.29million dollars into a fraudulent bank account in Poland. Complex forensic analysis carried out by a team of global investigators led to disclosure orders being obtained in South Africa and the US in advance of a successful Norwich Pharmacal application made against the relevant providers in the UK in order to identify the fraudsters. Upon the submission of a report, along with relevant evidence to the Complex Fraud Unit of the Metropolitan Police, criminal proceedings commenced.
General commercial litigation
- Acting on numerous breach of warranty, breach of contract, shareholder and directors disputes either as free standing matters or as part of many of the matters referred to above.
- Acting on large breach of warranty claim which also involves Competition and Markets Authority and Serious Fraud Office investigations.
- Acting on several debt recovery arbitrations for professional services companies (such as investigators and expert accountants).
- Acting on several large value professional negligence matters against lawyers and accountants.
Career History
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Mishcon de Reya
Solicitor, Mishcon de Reya
Solicitor, The Khan Partnership
Solicitor, Middletons (Sydney)
Qualified Solicitor in New South Wales, Australia
Articles and Publications
Robert has written articles in property and recruitment publications in respect of data theft, Delivery-up and Search Orders. He also contributes to the Firm's Fraud Briefings.