Fiona Gavriel > Janes Solicitors > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Janes Solicitors Offices
CORDING HOUSE
34-35, ST JAMES'S STREET
LONDON
SW1A 4HD
England
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Fiona Gavriel

Work Department
Supervising Solicitor in Fraud, Complex and Serious Crime
Position
Fiona is a senior criminal litigation lawyer specialising in and with extensive experience of complex business, white collar and general crime. She has led large teams of solicitors in numerous high profile and media featured cases brought by the SFO, HMRC, CPS, FCA, Trading Standards and more recently the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit. Fiona qualified as a solicitor in 2000.
Significant cases include:
R- V- R and others (Op Amazon) Southwark Crown Court Feb 2017 – present
Successful Defence of an accountant after a ten month trial. The case took 8 years to come to trial and has been described as the most complex direct tax prosecution case ever brought by HMRC. The case has afforded unprecedented insight into the workings and deficiencies of HMRC’s disclosure process as regards e-disclosure.
R- V- JWW and others July 2017
Successful defence of the director of a major independent brewery who faced three counts of cheating the public revenue. The charges related to the alleged non-payment of tax by the company. The company was one of the first London microbreweries and was recently acquired by Carlsberg. The jury were directed to give not guilty verdicts following successful half time submissions of “no case to answer”.
R- v- R and others Southwark Crown Court Sept 2015 – Jan 2016
Successful defence of a broker who worked at Tullett Prebon accused of involvement in LIBOR manipulation. The client was acquitted in less than one day following a four month trial.
R- V T Central Criminal Court – Charged 1st June 2017 . Trial September 2018
Charges of “Torture” dating back to the Liberian civil war, brought by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit under “Universal Jurisdiction”.
Other Notable Experience in Allegations of:
-Pension theft (Cheney Locksmiths in Birmingham)
-Horse race fixing (involving Kieran Fallon)
-Counterfeit software (Microsoft grey goods market)
-Boiler room fraud
-MTIC fraud
-Money Laundering (including a long running trial of money laundering for a Colombian drugs cartel with numerous associated trials involving a police informant).
-Large scale mortgage fraud
-Tax evasion (representing two Vantis Tax directors and their wives)
-Drugs offences (including importation and possession with intent to supply)
-Arson (resulting in hospital order)
-Fraudulent Trading (including the McAlpine owned “Welsh Slate” false invoicing case).
Relevant Work History
Career
Bark and Co – May 2001 – present (VHCC supervisor since 2006)
Janes Solicitors 1998 – 2001 Training Contract and post qualification (also qualifying as duty solicitor)
Languages
Fluent Greek and French
Memberships
Fraud Lawyers Association
Female Fraud Forum
Education
BA – Law and French – Westminster
MA – Inter-disciplinary Masters – War Studies dept. – King’s College London
Legal Practice Course – College of Law (York
Lawyer Rankings
London > Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
Fraud and criminal defence boutique firm Janes Solicitors is regularly instructed by CEOs, employees, and senior executives on a broad range of mandates, including tax avoidance investigations, SFO investigations, and fraud and bribery matters. Founding partner David Janes leads the team and attracts praise for his ‘brilliant mind‘; Janes’ caseload includes asset recovery and POCA cases, money laundering and tax evasion investigations, and forgery issues. James Mullion takes point on fraud instructions and regulatory matters, while Fiona Gavriel has extensive trial experience with a strong track record securing acquittals for defendants accused of forgery and tax evasion. Also in the team is Simon Barker, a key contact for complex fraud, confiscation, and money laundering issues.
London > Crime, fraud and licensing > Crime: general
The ‘phenomenal team’ at Janes Solicitors is well-known for its work in general crime. Notably, the firm has strong experience in cases regarding illicit substances, which has resulted in them receiving a large amount of EncroChat-related work. Leading the firm, Robert Berg is described as ‘an all-round Rolls-Royce solicitor’ with ‘a brain the size of a planet‘. Alex Mincoff, ‘working on cases on the cutting edge of law’, is well-versed in high value theft cases, while the ‘extremely hard-working’ Fiona Gavriel is a key contact regarding high value money laundering matters. James Mullion and Alex Chapman are both experts cases concerning the importation, supply, and distribution of class A drugs.
Lawyer Rankings
- Crime: general London > Crime, fraud and licensing
- Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals) London > Crime, fraud and licensing