Charles Bott KC and Richard Furlong recognised as leading fraud lawyers in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom™.

Charles Bott KC has been listed in the esteemed 12th edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom™, achieving a remarkable 10-year consecutive recognition as a preeminent fraud lawyer, while Richard Furlong has been acknowledged for the second consecutive year as a prominent fraud lawyer in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom™.

These recognitions, based on rigorous peer review, are testament to Charles’ and Richard’s outstanding legal skills and achievements in the field of fraud.

Charles Bott KC

Charles is a highly respected advocate who specialises in cases involving serious fraud, money laundering, and revenue evasion. With his extensive experience in criminal law, civil and commercial law, he has gained recognition as a leading practitioner and authority in civil fraud litigation, asset recovery, civil recovery, and account freeing orders. For the past nine years, he has been consistently ranked as a top silk (Band 1) in Financial Crime by Chambers and Partners.

Throughout his career, Charles has appeared in over 90 serious fraud trials, including high-profile cases. He has also provided advice to numerous clients under investigation, representing individuals such as politicians, solicitors, accountants, and prominent figures in the city and insurance markets. One of his notable successes was representing the Chief Executive of a leading psychiatric hospital, who received a public apology after being acquitted. The CEO praised Charles as “passionate and committed” with “natural talent of a very high order.”

Charles actively contributes articles to Lexis on topics related to fraud and financial crime, and his work has been featured in the Money Laundering Quarterly review. He also regularly speaks at events worldwide, sharing his insights on fraud, money laundering, and international asset recovery.

Currently, Charles is advising a range of clients who are the subject of major fraud investigations.

Richard Furlong

Richard’s practice encompasses allegations of a wide range of serious dishonesty and corruption, as well as money laundering.

Richard’s notable cases include defending the first individual prosecuted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for unlicensed lending. He also acted as a leading junior in a six-month trial involving tax and duty fraud, as well as fraudulent trading. This trial was jointly brought by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and West Sussex Trading Standards.

He is currently instructed in several major boiler room prosecutions initiated by the FCA and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) at Southwark. Additionally, Richard is representing one of the defendants in the Operation Larkshot money laundering case, which involves a substantial amount of £300 million. The trial for this case is scheduled to take place in Leeds in 2024.

He recently defended in a test case, the first of more than 600 anticipated prosecutions, brought by HMRC relating to the participation by a taxpayer in a contracts for difference capital gains tax scheme. The defendant was acquitted on an application to dismiss.

The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom™ is a distinguished publication that annually identifies and acknowledges the most accomplished legal professionals across various practice areas. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review.