Simon Baker KC

Simon Baker KC has been recognised for many years by all of the main directories as being one of the UK’s leading barristers. Simon acts for both individuals and corporate clients, and has been instructed in some of the most serious and high-profile cases in the UK, including the Post Office “Horizon” case, LIBOR, the HBoS fraud, BHS and the high-profile transexual murder of Naomi Hersi.

The Chambers & Partners Guide (in which he has been recommended in every edition since 2013) describes him as “a sensational barrister who does the highest quality work”, and the specialist Chambers & Partners Guide for High Net Worth individuals notes that “… he has never let a client down and he is always in great demand.”  Chambers & Partners has also described him as “very able and bright“, “extremely efficient and wonderfully reliable“, “incredibly easy to deal with and user-friendly“, as well as being “very good with clients; he puts them at ease and his preparation is second to none” and “exceptionally hard-working, very bright, great company and someone who goes the extra mile for the client.”  The 2022 Guide commented that he “has a huge amount of gravitas before the judges and he charms the juries.  He is recognised by the market as an incredible brain and is frighteningly bright.” The 2023 guide describes him as “a brilliant advocate.”

The Legal 500 guide (he had been recommended in every edition since 2015), describes him as  “incredibly bright, practical, a great team player, a brilliant drafter and excellent advocate. He has the ability to digest huge volumes of material and produce cogent and clear advice at superhuman speed.” Legal 500 has also described him as “immensely talented and a formidable advocate both on his feet and in written submissions and commands great respect of the judiciary” and “a highly effective advocate who gives very pragmatic and strategic advice in applying an extensive knowledge of the law and broader commercial factors”.  Legal 500 has also commented that he is “Always the master of his brief”, “always a joy to work with” and that “his extraordinary mind can absorb complex information in no time”.

Simon specialises in cases of complex fraud (including corporate fraud, “boiler room” frauds and MTIC) and money laundering as well as serious crime (including murder and serious drug conspiracies). He is regularly instructed in some of the highest profile cases in the UK. He has particular expertise in cases involving disclosure/public interest immunity issues and confiscation/asset recovery, as well as cases involving technical computer/digital evidence.

Although he now primarily defends, Simon has experience of private prosecutions. He has previously been on the CPS specialist fraud panel and the Attorney-General’s B panel of advocates, and has prosecuted serious cases for the Crown Prosecution Service, the Department of Trade & Industry and H.M. Revenue & Customs.

Simon is also experienced in extradition and regulatory work.

Cases

FRAUD & MONEY LAUNDERING

• Post Office “Horizon” appeals (R v H & Others [2021] EWCA Crim 577, R v A & Others [2021] EWCA Crim 1443, R v A & Others [2021] EWCA Crim 1874, R v W & Others [2022] EWCA Crim 435, and R v H & Others [2022] EWCA Crim 1197) – Representing the Post Office in relation to the criminal appeals and potential appeals of sub-postmasters prosecuted between 2000 and 2013 in cases relying upon evidence from the Horizon computer system (including the largest conjoined appeal ever heard by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division).
• LIBOR: Successfully defended in the SFO prosecution of a former broker charged with LIBOR rigging. The case involved allegations that bankers were colluding to fix the LIBOR rate which is used as a benchmark for world trading in a range of financial products. The value of the fraud was incalculable, as the impact could have run to trillions of dollars.
• Operation Hornet (HBoS): Represented the first defendant in the very high profile prosecution of HBoS directors and businessmen arising out of alleged fraud and corruption connected to the HBoS impaired assets division between 2003 and 2007. HBoS’s alleged losses from the fraud are said to be in excess of £250m.
• BHS: Defended DC, who had purchased British Home Stores for £1 from Sir Phillip Green, in relation to his very high-profile prosecution for offences of tax fraud arising out of the purchase and collapse of British Home Stores.
• iSoft: Represented the former CEO of iSoft PLC in the very high profile FCA (formerly FSA) prosecution of the directors of iSoft PLC for offences of market manipulation. The case was the largest case ever prosecuted by the FCA/FSA. Following a 4 month trial, which collapsed following successful defence submissions relating to disclosure and abuse, the FCA conceded defeat and the defendants were acquitted
• iSpoof: Represented TF, the founder of the iSpoof website, in the high-profile prosecution for multiple fraud and money laundering offences arising out of the frauds (valued in excess of £43 million in the UK alone and over £100 million worldwide) committed through the website’s facility enabling users to “spoof” caller IDs (making it appear that the fraudsters were calling from the victims’ banks etc).
• Operation Picasso: Successfully acted as leading counsel for the first defendant, the Managing Director of an investment brokerage, who was acquitted of a multi-million pound “boiler room” fraud conspiracy involving selling carbon credits as investments.
• Operation Aquamarine: Instructed as leading counsel for a solicitor alleged to have been at the heart of a very high value (over £40m) mortgage fraud on Barclays Private Clients International and Abbey Commercial Mortgages.
• Operation Balaban: Acted alone for main director of two companies charged with conspiracy to defraud in relation to a multi-million pound “boiler room” fraud The case collapsed following defence submissions in relation to disclosure and the fact that the Crown were relying on an expert who was not suitably qualified.
• Operation Modcons: Represented the CEO of a multi-million pound construction logistics company facing allegations of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue through a £6.9m payroll fraud.
• Operation Tulipbox: Represented a company director in the UK’s first ever carbon credit fraud. This was a £39 million MTIC fraud in which carbon credits were traded on to Blue Chip traders such as Morgan Stanley, BP, Shell & Gazprom.
• R v F & B [2008] EWCA Crim 1868: Defence counsel at trial (an allegation of money laundering valued at almost £1.2 million), in the appeal before the Court of Appeal, and on the certified appeal to the House of Lords, on the question of whether the Crown are required to prove the underlying offence when prosecuting for money laundering.
• R v A & Others: Defence counsel in the Kings College NHS Trust fraud (the largest ever fraud perpetrated against the NHS).
• R v P: Defence counsel in a £75 million money laundering case connected to the London City Bond investigations (stayed as an abuse of process).
• R v S & others: Leading defence counsel in complex confiscation proceedings, valued over £3.7 million, relating to the laundering of the proceeds of a large-scale conspiracy to steal cars.

MURDER

• R v JM: Defended in the high profile killing of transsexual woman whom the defendant had met online for sex. The case involved issues of self-defence and loss of control.
• R v B: Acted for the lead defendant in a highly publicised gang murder in the back of an ambulance arising out of a “turf war” between Romanian gangs involved in ATM fraud.
• R v F: Defended in a murder trial involving a killing during a pub fight, in which the defence was self-defence.
• R v CL: Acted alone as sole counsel defending man charged with attempted murder (repeated stabbing of his girlfriend), where the defence was one of insanity. The defendant was acquitted of attempted murder on the basis of inability for form the required consent due to psychiatric illness.
• R v G: Prosecution counsel in a case of attempted murder/s.18 by a paranoid schizophrenic who had repeatedly stabbed a commuter whilst suffering from a delusional episode causd by his deliberate withdrawal from medication.

TRADING STANDARDS

• R v M, C & T [2017] UKSC 58 – Represented a company, and its main director, who faced charges relating to multi-million pound grey market trading. The case involved taking an interlocutory appeal all the way to the Supreme Court to determine whether grey market trading constituted a criminal infringement of s.92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994. Both the corporate and individual clients were acquitted when the Crown offered no evidence following successful defence submissions relating to abuse of process and disclosure.
• Operation Ark: Successfully represented JB, the director of a number of companies with a turnover of over £46.7m, facing one of the largest ever Trading Standards prosecutions for conspiracy to defraud arising out of the allegedly fraudulent mis-selling of heating systems.  Following a week-long disclosure argument, the Judge agreed that the prosecution’s approach to disclosure had been defective and the prosecution offered no evidence.
• R v BA: Defending a woman charged with importing and selling in excess of £1.1m of counterfeit apparel through a series of market stalls and online retailers.

DRUGS

• R v K & others: Acted for the main defendant in the largest ever conspiracy to import cocaine (over 1.6 tonnes).
• R v AM & others – Defended company director charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute in excess of £43m of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids.
• R v H & another – Defence counsel in highly complex and substantial confiscation proceedings arising out of massive drug and money laundering conspiracies, where the Crown alleged criminality valued at in excess of £1 billion and where the s16 statement ran to almost 3000 pages.
• R v N: Defending in relation to the largest ever seizure of Ketamine in the UK (valued at over £4 million).
• R v R: Defending in an extremely serious supply of Class A case (involving 6 kilos of cocaine and 20,000 ecstasy tablets to undercover police officers), involving complex abuse of process, entrapment and P.I.I. issues.
• R v H & Z: Successfully prosecuted 2 defendants for their roles in a serious conspiracy to import heroin.

IMMIGRATION FRAUD

• R v Q: Leading counsel defending an immigration officer charged with large-scale immigration fraud, facilitation, money laundering and misconduct in public office. The trial was front page news in the national press, who described the client as “the most dishonest man in Britain”.
• R v F: Leading defence counsel for the first defendant facing allegations of masterminding a large-scale immigration fraud and corrupting a Home Office official. The 2½ month trial attracted significant press coverage and resulted in the defendant being acquitted of the corruption offences on a half-time submission.

EXTRADITION

• USA v Benbow & others [2005] EWHC 1051 (Admin): Defending in the leading authority on applicability of entrapment in extradition cases (application to extradite to the USA to stand trial for conspiracy to supply cocaine allegedly to finance the $220 million purchase of Strontium-90 Metal from former Russian Intelligence Officers).
• Romania v C: Acted on behalf of a Chinese national facing extradition to Romania to serve a sentence for murder following his trial in absence. The issues were whether the request was time barred, and whether the Romanian request satisfied the technical requirements of s.85 (whether the defendant’s absence was voluntary).