Narita Bahra KC
Narita Bahra KC is ranked Tier 1 for Financial Crime and Fraud by Legal 500. She defends high-net-worth individuals, senior executives, and professionals in serious crime and complex financial crime matters. Her practice includes fraud, money laundering, bribery, corruption, murder, terrorism, serious sexual offences, and regulatory proceedings.
Instructing solicitors value her strategic approach to cases attracting media attention, her ability to manage matters where reputational considerations are critical alongside the criminal defence, and her consistent record of achieving favourable outcomes in complex matters. Narita is recognised for her forensic preparation, tactical acumen in turning difficult cases around, and her client care approach that provides reassurance throughout proceedings.
Financial Crime
Narita Bahra KC's financial crime practice includes corporate fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, bribery, corruption, insider trading, fraudulent trading, and asset confiscation. Narita regularly acts in high-value matters involving multi-jurisdictional investigations and parallel regulatory proceedings before the SFO, FCA, and HMRC. Her experience extends to grant funding fraud, phishing cases, and complex tax evasion investigations.
Narita is currently instructed to defend in many of the most high-profile financial crime and fraud cases in the UK, due to be tried in the forthcoming years.
Cases which came to trial in 2025 include representation of a principal defendant in the UK prosecution concerning the largest ever international cryptocurrency seizure, valued in excess of £5.5 billion. The matter involves competing claims from multiple jurisdictions and presents complex issues concerning digital asset regulation and cross-border asset recovery.
Narita also secured an acquittal in a complex pension fraud matter after decade-long proceedings, and obtained a suspended sentence preserving employment in a fraud by abuse of position case. Her case experience includes multi-jurisdictional corporate fraud cases with allegations exceeding £50 million, money laundering prosecutions with parallel FCA proceedings, bribery and corruption cases involving international jurisdictions, and major SFO investigations involving multiple defendants.
Her client base includes business leaders, senior executives, HNW clients and professionals where discretion and reputational management are relevant considerations. She has experience with complex financial structures, corporate governance issues, and challenging financial and regulatory expert witnesses. Instructing solicitors note Narita’s ability to forensically test financial and regulatory expert witnesses has led to acquittals in multi-jurisdictional fraud and complex white-collar investigations.
Narita regularly acts in matters where the stakes extend beyond the criminal proceedings to regulation, encompassing career, professional standing, and future livelihood. Narita’s approach addresses both the immediate legal defence and the broader implications for clients facing allegations that could fundamentally alter their lives.
"Narita is tenacious and meticulous in her preparation of cases which makes her the perfect choice as counsel for fraud cases."
"Narita is exceptional as a Barrister and will make sure no stone is left unturned."
Serious Crime
Narita Bahra KC's serious crime practice includes murder, manslaughter, terrorism, serious sexual offences, stalking and harassment, organised crime, and complex conspiracies. Her practice is characterised by expert witness cross-examination across forensic, scientific, and digital disciplines, and strategic use of disclosure litigation to expose prosecutorial failings.
Narita recently secured an acquittal for a professional client charged with sexual offences. In a high-profile stalking matter involving significant media attention, she successfully challenged the charge through legal submissions, resulting in the prosecution offering no evidence. When alternative charges were pursued, she negotiated to limit the scope of conduct deemed harassment.
Narita’s case experience includes high-profile murder trials where forensic evidence has been challenged, terrorism cases involving complex disclosure issues, serious sexual offence trials attracting national media attention, and organised crime prosecutions described as significant by prosecuting authorities. She has a consistent record of securing acquittals in trials where forensic and scientific evidence is challenged.
Instructing solicitors note Narita’s tactical approach to cases under political, media, or corporate scrutiny and her reputation for achieving the best outcomes in the most challenging cases. She is particularly valued for handling serious allegations under media scrutiny and managing adverse publicity.
"Narita is an outstanding barrister -- her advocacy skills are second to none."
"Narita is tenacious and she leaves no stone uncovered. She will dive into the unused material and seek disclosure till there is nothing else left to consider, meaning that our clients can be assured that every avenue that could be considered has been. Her closing speeches are phenomenal and she is able to relate to a jury no matter what their background or age. A barrister who gets results."
Expertise
Disclosure Litigation: Co-author of Tackling Disclosure in the Criminal Courts – A Practitioner's Guide. Her practice regularly involves disclosure applications in complex criminal cases and strategic litigation to expose prosecutorial failings.
Expert Witness Cross-Examination: Experience cross-examining expert witnesses across forensic science (DNA, fingerprints, blood pattern analysis), financial matters (forensic accountants), digital evidence (phone data, computer analysis), medical experts (pathologists, psychiatrists), and scientific experts (toxicology, ballistics).
Confiscation and Asset Recovery: Co-author of A Practical Guide to Confiscation and Restraint. Regular appearances in confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, including restraint orders, hidden asset investigations, and challenges to benefit calculations.
High-Profile Case Management: Experience in cases attracting significant media attention where reputational management is relevant alongside legal defence. She advises clients on reputational considerations, has experience coordinating with reputation management professionals, and understands both the legal and reputational dimensions of high-profile criminal defence. Her media work includes regular legal commentary for BBC News, Sky News, ITV News, Channel 4 News, and contributions to major true crime documentaries and public interest inquests.
International Practice: Direct Access qualified, dual qualified, and DIFC Part II registered practitioner with rights of audience before the DIFC courts. Her practice extends to high-stakes corporate and international disputes involving bribery, corruption, anti-competitive conduct, commercial fraud, and asset freezing orders. She provides strategic legal counsel for complex, high-stakes criminal matters addressing both immediate criminal proceedings and broader strategic considerations facing clients.
Client Care
"Narita Bahra KC under-promises the client but over-delivers every time, while clearly communicating with them on a level that they understand."
"Ms Bahra KC is a perfectionist and all her work is done to the highest of standards. She is always fully prepared and this is reflected in the quality of her advocacy, her ability to instil confidence in every client and her written arguments/legal documents."
"A very polished operator; tenacious and fearless."
"A very capable and formidable advocate who is incredibly hardworking and tenacious."
"Narita has a unique style in front of juries, who like her approach."
"Narita has a high profile on the circuit."