Ian Winter KC

Ian Winter KC is firmly established as one of the leading silks at the Bar. A focused, highly sought-after criminal specialist with a particular emphasis on fraud and financial crime. He is regularly instructed to advise and represent companies as well as individuals involved in cases brought by the Serious Fraud Office and Financial Conduct Authority who require complex strategic advice from the outset.

Ian also represents clients on matters of professional discipline, appearing at hearings in front of a variety of regulatory bodies.

He has appeared in the commercial court and attracts market attention in the libel and defamation arena.

Ian regularly appears in cases in Hong Kong, Singapore, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man.

Recent & Current Cases

Ian is currently representing a defendant in the Entain prosecution in relation to the provision by the international internet gambling company of gambling services remotely into Turkey.  He acts for a high-profile defendant in disqualification proceedings in the Insolvency List in the Chancery Division.  He represents a defendant in the SFO prosecution of a store pod company for miselling SIPP investments.  He is acting for a defendant in the FCA prosecution of insider dealing offences.  He represents the defendant in an SFO investigation into the miselling of solar farm bonds.  He is acting for a very high-profile defendant charged with historical sexual offences and rape.  Ian is still acting for a Hong Kong defendant in the long running prosecution of fraud allegations in relation to a reverse takeover of farming properties in New Zealand.

Ian recently appeared before the Court of Final Appeal in hong Kong in an important decision in relation to the ambit of Conspiracy to Defraud.  He brought about the stay for abuse of process in the SFO prosecution of the G4S defendants.  He successfully represented Tom Kalaris, a former executive of Barclays Bank, charged by the SFO following its investigation into the 2008 recapitalisation of the bank securing an acquittal following a trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Ian achieved a ruling that there was no case to answer for John Scouler, the former commercial director of Tesco, charged with fraud and false accounting by the SFO, notwithstanding that the SFO had entered into a DPA agreement with Tesco on the basis of his guilt. He also advised a suspect in relation to the SFO investigation into ENRC, and a potential defendant in the Airbus prosecution, successfully ensuring that neither was charged.

Ian successfully represented May Hao before the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong and represented her at the two re-trials that followed.

Ian represented Thomas Chan in Hong Kong in the city’s biggest corruption trial involving the former Chief Secretary of the Special Administrative Region. He represented stock broker Ben Anderson charged by the FCA with insider dealing offences arising from Operation Tabernula, the largest ever investigation into share trading abuses by the city regulator. Following a four-month trial Ian secured an acquittal for Mr Anderson.