Mr Aaron Watkins > Kingsley Napley LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Mr Aaron Watkins

02035351682 AWatkins@kingsleynapley.co.uk

Work Department

Criminal Litigation

Position

Partner

Career

Aaron practices in all areas of financial crime, extradition, mutual legal assistance, INTERPOL and related areas of immigration, asylum and public law. He is highly sought after and has been consistently ranked in the legal directories as an outstanding lawyer in his areas of practice for over a decade. Prior to joining Kingsley Napley in 2022, Aaron practiced as a barrister from leading chambers Matrix, and, most recently Cloth Fair, where he acted in some of the most high-profile and complex matters.

Extradition, INTERPOL, and mutual legal assistance

Aaron is one of the leading extradition lawyers in the country. He has extensive experience representing individuals facing complex and high-profile extradition proceedings, and acting on behalf of requesting states. He has been instructed in many key cases before both the Supreme Court and High Court.

Aaron is instructed at all stages of proceedings from pre-extradition advice through all levels of court. He has particular expertise defending individuals contesting extradition to the Russian Federation, the US and India. He regularly acts for clients opposing extradition in the most complex cases concerning alleged financial misconduct and cases raising issues of political corruption, abuse of process, and human rights conditions abroad.

In addition to court representation, Aaron also has an extensive advisory practice. He regularly assists legal teams in other jurisdictions contesting extradition when expert assistance is sought (most recently in Ukraine, Cyprus, Austria and St Kitts). He is a co-author of the leading practitioner text on extradition and is instructed to act in foreign court proceedings as an expert witness regarding UK extradition law and practice.

Aaron is also a leading practitioner in the field of mutual legal assistance. He is experienced in challenging investigation measures sought by foreign investigators. As with extradition, Aaron is a co-author of the leading practitioner text on mutual legal assistance.

Aaron regularly deals with INTERPOL matters, including the preparation of applications for the removal of Red Notices. Recent successful representations include on behalf of a former UK football club owner (Albania) and two former employees of a global financial services company (Romania).

As part of his international practice, Aaron also has extensive experience of applications to the European Court of Human Rights in relation to both criminal and civil proceedings. The applicants he has assisted are based in the UK and abroad. Most recently, he has acted on behalf of individuals convicted of espionage offences for (effective) insider dealing in relation to the privatisation of state energy assets in Romania.

Financial Crime

Aaron joined Kingsley Napley from Cloth Fair, the premier chambers in the field of financial crime. He regularly acts for individuals and companies in the most serious and heavyweight domestic and international matters concerning allegations of fraud, corruption, money laundering and related conduct. HE is experienced in working successfully with clients from the very earliest stages of investigation and advice through to trial and appeal.

Aaron’s cases involve parallel civil and regulatory proceedings, and entail complex cross-border criminal issues including multi-jurisdictional investigations, and sanctions. He has experience of criminal cases across diverse jurisdictions, in particular the US, Russia, Ukraine, France, Monaco, the Middle East and a number of Caribbean countries. The multi-jurisdictional aspect of Aaron’s work is strongly complemented by his recognised expertise in the areas of extradition and mutual legal assistance.

Aaron also has considerable expertise in Proceeds of Crime Act matters. In particular, he has an established practice in relation to civil proceedings brought under POCA. He acts in Account Freezing and Forfeiture Order cases and was part of the team which obtained the first ever discharge of an Unexplained Wealth Order before the High Court.

Aaron’s advice is routinely sought in relation to a wide range of related matters such as challenging search warrants, production orders and other investigative measures. He also represents individuals before specialist tribunals such as the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and SIAC. Aaron also has substantial experience of judicial review (as former GLD ‘panel counsel’), appeals by way of case stated and habeas corpus applications.

General crime

Aaron has practiced in general crime at all levels of court since the start of his career, including successful appeals against conviction before the Court of Appeal for sex offences and violence offences connected to organised crime. He has acted as counsel for the defence across a range of cases from serious violence (murder and manslaughter), terrorism, to sexual offences including rape and possession of extreme pornography. His general criminal work also includes advising on prosecution decisions, including a recent homicide charging decision concerning a police firearms officer.