Serious Crime

http://www.barkco.co.uk/Expertise/Serious+Crime

Bark & Co has developed a formidable reputation in the area of serious crime. Over the past few years, criminal work has expanded and diversified, whilst remaining at the top end in terms of quality and complexity. Current cases range from complex murder and drug crimes to the sale of false identity documents involving anti-terrorism forces in UK and around the world.

Bark & Co have forged a particular niche in ‘cold cases’ relating to what we believe had become an over reliance by prosecutors on evidence from unreliable ‘supergrasses’.  Similarly, we have been at the forefront in defending a high-profile case testing the application of new rules on hearsay evidence. As an example of the extremely sensitive and diverse nature of our criminal work, Bark & Co were brought in to act in criminal cases involving occupying forces in Iraq.

Amongst other recent high profile matters we are involved with several murder cases, in one of which we made a successful application to have the principal ‘supergrass’s evidence excluded. We also raised pertinent questions about police conduct during the investigation in relation to this evidence.

We have just received instructions in one of the biggest drug smuggling multi-jurisdictional cases stretching from Columbia via the Caribbean to Europe. This involved high grade cocaine worth hundreds of millions of pounds on the streets of London and money laundering.

Our successes at Bark & Co are characterised by our detailed research and analysis which enable us to challenge customary practice and regulations and find the best possible outcome for our clients.
 

MTIC Fraud

http://www.barkco.co.uk/Expertise/MTIC+FraudMTIC (Missing Trader "carousel" VAT Fraud) prosecutions follow a Civil or Criminal route depending on the circumstances of case. Bark & Co have a successful track record of representing clients across a broad spectrum of cases of MTIC and contra-trading fraud in both the civil and criminal arenas. We have a large and growing team specialising in the issues around VAT fraud backed by top class Counsel and experts who previously worked for HM Revenue and Customs.

Our teams have been involved in some of the highest profile cases in recent times, one of which was attributed as the reason for the UK Government publishing inaccurate balance of payments statistics.

Since then, the UK Government has commissioned further research into how best to combat MTIC fraud given the scale of losses to the exchequer whilst HMCE has mounted a campaign of verification of VAT returns on a scale not previously envisaged. This has led to HMCE withholding significant numbers of VAT repayments and resorting to legal action even where there is scant evidence of non-compliance with VAT procedures.   

MTIC fraud includes both acquisition fraud and carousel fraud. It is characterised by the speed and complexity of transactions which combine to create doubt about the legality of the business dealings, often leading to charges at an early stage.  Of late the HMCE has held that, even where it is clear that a trader intended no misdemeanour, they can find themselves under suspicion of fraud by omission. The nature of the trade means there are often requirements for compliance with complex EU legislation. Compliance itself is further complicated by the varying levels of active regulation and enforcement of that legislation by Member States

Our team at Bark & Co are well versed in the legislation surrounding VAT, zero rating and the impact of the most recent court decisions in UK and abroad. Recent cases undertaken by our teams include a charge of cheating the public revenue of £250M in a large-scale MTIC VAT fraud in the mobile phone market and another carousel case amounting to £170M also emanating from the telecoms sector and involving billions of pounds of trading in mobile phones.  A further case involves the trading of vehicles throughout Europe.