John Binns

Partner

Proceeds of crime

John is highly ranked for his expertise in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) (Chambers UK Band 2), and regularly advises both corporate and individual clients on:

• liability for money laundering offences;
• when and how to seek consent (also called a Defence Against Money Laundering, or DAML) by making a
• Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to the National Crime Agency (NCA);
• responsibilities of the regulated sector, under POCA, the Terrorism Act 2000, and money laundering regulations (MLRs); and
• how to deal with assets and transactions that are subject to a moratorium or otherwise frozen under POCA.

He also regularly advises on various other aspects of POCA, including:

• Account Freezing and Forfeiture Orders (AFFOs);
• seizure, detention and forfeiture of cash and listed assets;
• confiscation and restraint orders;
• production orders and disclosure notices; and
• Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).

Cannabis

John’s cannabis practice involves advising clients on:

• obtaining controlled drug licences from the Home Office’s Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit (DFLU) to deal with cannabis in the UK;
• POCA aspects of investments in overseas cannabis businesses;
• regulatory issues arising in the context of applications to list on the LSE or AIM; and
• seizures of products, including by Border Force at the point of importation.

Sanctions

John has noted expertise in international financial sanctions (Chambers UK Band 2), having helped clients to:

• understand and comply with sanctions laws, including reporting obligations;
• assess and prepare for the risks of being designated in the UK;
• obtain licences in the UK to deal with frozen assets;
• respond to investigations into suspected breaches; and
• bring challenges in the courts, both domestic (High Court, Court of Appeal) and international (General Court, Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)).

Tax

John is also highly ranked for his expertise in contentious tax matters (Chambers UK Band 2), which includes:

• representing corporate and individual clients in connection with HMRC investigations;
• dealing with overlaps between HMRC’s civil procedures and risks under the criminal law; and
• advice on the corporate criminal offences under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 of failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion.

Financial crime

John has experience in dealing with a broad range of matters relating to financial crime, including:

• defending major international cases involving allegations of bribery and corruption;
• bringing successful challenges to extradition attempts and Interpol red notices on the basis of political motivation;
• responding to investigations and other risks arising from suspected fraud (including MTIC, Ponzi, and crypto-related frauds);
• representing clients accused of market abuse, including cartel behaviour (price-fixing) and market manipulation; and
• bringing and defending civil proceedings (including judicial review, contempt of court, applications under the Insolvency Act, malicious prosecution claims, disciplinary proceedings, and others) where criminal-regulatory issues are engaged.

Writing and speaking

John is a prolific writer and speaker on a variety of topics, having:

• given oral evidence to select committees of the House of Lords during the Brexit process on the future prospects for EU-UK cooperation in criminal justice ;
• been interviewed on BBC television and radio programmes, discussing matters relating to money laundering and financial crime;
• given presentations at events hosted by (among others) the Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime, University College London, the Red Lion Lectures at King’s College London, and the University of Bristol;
• presented webinars and written practice notes for LexisNexis and others on topics including Brexit, coronavirus detention powers, bribery and corruption, money laundering, and sanctions;
• chaired panels for the Anti-Money Laundering Professionals (AMLP) Forum, the Global Sanctions Forum, and the Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA); and
• written extensively on legal topics for various publications, including the Times, City AM, and the Law Society Gazette.

Career

John studied LLB Law at King’s College London and MPhil Criminology at the University of Cambridge. He qualified in 2000, joined BCL in 2010, and became a partner there in 2017.

 

Publications

• What are the implications of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022 for corporate crime lawyers? (LexisNexis)
• Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Review: England and Wales chapter (with Shaul Brazil)
• Money Laundering Law and Regulation: a Practical Guide (Oxford University Press) (contributor)
• The Law and Regulation of Medicines and Medical Devices, 2^nd edition (Oxford University Press): Criminal Liabilities chapter (with David Hardstaff)
• One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? The Problem of the UK and Europol (Reports Legal, 20 October 2021)
• Anti-Corruption Sanctions in the UK: The Future? (Corporate Live Wire, 18 October 2021)
• Failure and Fault: What the NatWest Case Tells Us About Corporate Liability for Money Laundering (Reports Legal, 12 October 2021)
• The Bribery Act: The First 10 Years (The Barrister Magazine, with Umar Azmeh, 5 October 2021)
• High Stakes: Is the UK Finally Clearing a Pathway for Cannabis Investments? (Open Access Government, 16 August 2021)
• Corporate Criminal Liability: the Why and the How (Lawyer Monthly, 23 June 2021)
• Will 2021 See the UK’s Cannabis Industry Bloom? (Open Access Government, with David Hardstaff, 20 May 2021)
• Can the UK Solve its ‘Money Laundering’ Problem with the Proceeds of Medicinal Cannabis? (International Pharmaceutical Industry, with David Hardstaff, Spring 2021)
• Money Laundering: Who Bears the Burden? (Inside Conveyancing, 11 February 2021)
• Medical Cannabis Law Has Been Left in a Haze (The Times, with David Hardstaff, 11 February 2021)
• Fighting Money Laundering May End Up Helping It (The Times, 24 September 2020)
• The Commerzbank Fine: An Expert’s View (Compliance Matters, 18 July 2020)
• Covid-19 and Medical Cannabis: Could the Crisis Bring Opportunities? (Open Access Government, 11 May 2020)
• The Coronavirus Act: Detaining and Isolating Children (Open Access Government, 2 April 2020)
• The SFO’s Failure in the Landmark Barclays Case Has Exposed Its Flaws (Euronews, with Harry Travers, 5 March 2020)
• Unexplained Wealth Orders: Will Zamira Hajiyeva’s Appeal Open the Floodgates? (Open Access Government, 10 February 2020)
• Is the Refusal of Zamira Hajiyeva’s Appeal Really Good News for the NCA? (Euronews, with Michael Drury, 18 February 2020)
• Homegrown Magnitsky Regime Adds to Burden on Business (The Times, 13 February 2020)
• What’s Next for the UK’s Cannabis Laws? (Open Access Government, 10 January 2020)
• Magnitsky’s Legacy and Curbing Financial Crime (Law Society Gazette, 18 November 2019)
• Through the Smoke: the Legal Path to Britain’s Cannabis Market (City AM, 26 June 2019)
• Unexplained Wealth Orders: Political or Practical? (Financier Worldwide, July 2018)

Professional Memberships

• Anti-Money Laundering Professionals (AMLP) Forum
• Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
• Fraud Lawyers Association (FLA)
• Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA) (committee member)
• Sanctions Practitioners Group
• Tax Investigations Practitioners Group
• The Law Society