Alun Jenkins QC

Lincoln’s Inn

‘a practitioner of great ability, experience and expertise’. Legal 500 2010 

Alun Jenkins QC has been engaged in many high profile Fraud, Murder and International smuggling cases however since taking silk he has predominately specialised in complex commercial and serious fraud cases throughout the UK initially for the prosecution and now for the defence. He is exceptionally well tuned-in to the (non) disclosure regime of the serious government cases.

 Alun has extensive experience in exceptionally serious crime both violent, fraudulent, UK and international, prosecuting and defending as a junior and silk. International dimension achieved prosecuting for HMCE and the Regional Crime Squads as a junior on the smuggling of drugs being imported by boat from the Caribbean or Mediterranean. After taking silk in 1996 visiting Holland, Belgium and Spain on Commissions Rogatoire and appearing in the Courts of Barcelona on Money Laundering cases.

Before taking silk, Alun was mainly briefed as prosecuting counsel for The Regional Crime Squads and HMCE and in that capacity prosecuted many exceptionally serious cases from birth to conclusion including importations of drugs by boat and air, hostage kidnappings, shootings and unusually, manslaughter with an aeroplane. He also dealt extensively with VAT evasion and MTIC work.

In 1993 the change in the regulation of bonded warehouses brought about by the European Union caused a number of complex and large profit frauds to proliferate. They were known by the generic title of Diversion or Carousel frauds. The cases began going through the courts in 1996 and it was on this work that he spent most of the next 9 years in silk. Mostly prosecuting and then latterly defending.

The work encompassed the international collection of evidence and tracing of assets. To this end he was engaged in setting up two courts for the examination of witnesses in Barcelona whilst attempting to trace £168M worth of assets. This international element of his work now incorporates the International Warrant for Arrest.

Since 2007 he has offered his extensive experience and services only to the defence and has constantly been in demand by leading defence firms across the country for his knowledge of fraud cases, international aspects of evidence and the associated process of VAT Tribunals where very large sums of money can be in issue by the claimants and the government.

He has chambers in London and Bristol but his practice is nationwide and he is willing to travel from Kent to Cornwall, London to Wales and Bristol to the North of England and any part of the UK or the World for appropriate cases.

Qualifications:

Undergraduate Degree
University of Bristol – LLB (Hons) 1971

Post-graduate Qualifications
Assistant Recorder 1992
Head of Chambers 1995
Silk 1996
Recorder 2000 – tickets in Civil and Crime
Bencher of Lincolns Inn 2010

Areas of Practice:

Carousel Frauds
Pyramid Frauds
MTIC Frauds
VAT Investigations & Tribunals
Money Laundering
Confiscation
Tax & Duty Investigation

Notable Cases:

Operation Scirocco – briefed to prosecute tobacco and alcohol fraud involving the loss of £168,000,000 lost excise revenue. The monies obtained by the defendants in this case were laundered by investments in Spanish holiday resorts and it was also asserted that the monies were the proceeds of illegal diamond exports from Angola. Two courts were set up in Barcelona in the course of this case to trace the monies involved.

Operation Mamba – briefed to defend in a £9,000,000 mobile phone importation carousel and missing trader fraud.

Briefed to prosecute a £55,000,000 loss of excise revenue due to a diversion fraud involving the movements of an estimated 550 lorry loads of alcohol which failed to arrive at the stated bonded warehouses of destination.

Briefed to prosecute a £40,000,000 loss of VAT revenue on a missing trader fraud involving computer chips.

R v. Davies – International tachograph fraud

R v. Fern – carpet fraud

R v. Shipley - VAT Fraud

R v. Cox & Strachan - VAT fraud

Additional areas of law:

R v. Brown – briefed to prosecute the driver of a coach on a day out with elderly persons from Chichester who fell asleep at the wheel causing multiple deaths

Pursuing a civil fraud and corruption case in The Gambia.

Many of the fraud cases set out involved the movement of the monies obtained into arms deals and in at least one case the purchase of diamonds from Angola.

Health & Safety Matters include the importation of large volume low cost suites of leather furniture made in China but failing to comply with the requirements of the UK market