Syedur Rahman

White Collar Crime  

• Secured the acquittal of a former senior executive of a seismic testing company - after the company itself had admitted wrongdoing - following an SFO investigation into alleged bribery of a South Korean public official to secure multi-million-pound contracts.
• Defended a forex trader who lost £130 million of investors’ funds, in a large-scale, cross-border investigation which included jurisdictions such as Turkey, Thailand, Australia and United States of America.
• Representation of a global precious metals company in an SFO bribery and corruption investigation. This included conducting multi-jurisdictional internal investigations of more than 40 companies worldwide and negotiations for a deferred prosecution agreement.
• Defended a London-based hedge fund trader being investigated by authorities in Europe over alleged involvement in a £193 million Cum-Ex share trading scheme.
• Represented a partner at an asset management firm in a multi-jurisdictional Cum-Ex trading investigation headed by UK, German and Austrian authorities.
• Defence of a corporate’s chief executive and director in an FCA criminal investigation into making false/misleading statements and concealing material facts relating to a large, publicly-listed company.
• Represented an alleged director in an SFO investigation relating to the operation of pension schemes and SIPP investments, involving £120 million.

International Arbitration  

• REPRESENTED a major Russian state development corporation and investment company, resisting an anti-suit injunction brought by a UK bank following a dispute relating to a $160 million termination agreement before the Russian courts.
• ADVISED on matters related to anti-suit injunctions and the enforcement of a substantial award, valued at approximately $100 million, against a multinational conglomerate.
• ACTING for an alternative management firm incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) as the claimant in LCIA arbitration proceedings. The matters involved allegations of breach of implied and express terms of a contract, arising from the acquisition of preferred shares in the respondent’s Liberian incorporated parent company.
• ACTING for the claimant in LCIA proceedings spanning multiple jurisdictions, including North America, the Marshall Islands, BVI and Europe. The dispute is centred around a multi-million-dollar loan agreement related to liquefied petroleum gas and shipping management services.

Sanctions

• REPRESENTED a sanctioned entity, resisting an anti-suit injunction brought by a UK bank following a dispute relating to a $160 million termination agreement before the Russian courts.
• ASSISTED a major raw materials industrial group in assessing the impact of UK and EU sanctions regimes on its business activities and preparing a licence application for the Department of International Trade (“DIT”).
• REPRESENTED a major raw materials manufacturing company in its interactions with the UK and EU regulators in connection with restrictive measures impacting its business activities.
• ASSISTED a leading global energy trader in assessing the impact of UK and EU sanctions regimes on its business activities.
• ADVISING a privately owned Museum in relation to valuable cultural artefacts in relation to UK sanctions compliance and export advice.
• ADVISING an offshore corporate service provider in relation to its clients and the impact of UK sanctions relating to Russia.
• ADVISED a corporate entity in the digital risks sector on the application of UK sanctions and contemplated restructuring of foreign UK subsidiaries.
• REPRESENTATION of a major conglomerate which floated on the London Stock Exchange. Advising on complex capital restructuring and compliance following the imposition of sanctions on Russia.
• REPRESENTED a large power engineering company headquartered in Russia. Advising on the imposition of international sanctions and the performance of a contract valued at c$787 million USD.
• ADVISED a major oil producer on the risks of breaching trade sanctions and compliance with UK sanctions law.
• PREPARED a licence application to OFSI for a public joint-stock company, in relation to a $500 million USD corporate bond and coupon payments due to noteholders following finance agreements.
• ADVISED a chemicals company headquartered in Switzerland on the structure and application of the UK sanctions regime, including corporate restructuring of its subsidiaries.
• REPRESENTATION of a large conglomerate in the timber industry listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange and advising on the UK sanctions regime.

Cryptocurrency 

• ACTING as UK defence counsel for Terraform Labs in US SEC enforcement proceedings arising from one of the largest frauds in history, involving alleged losses exceeding USD $40 billion, and leading complex cross-border litigation, including the successful enforcement of a Hague Convention Letter of Request before the English High Court to secure key evidence for trial.
• REPRESENTATION of an artificial intelligence lab in the landmark case of Fetch ai v Persons Unknown. This case is widely recognised as it involved the successful obtaining of a worldwide freezing order after the applicant suffered a loss of $2.6 million when unidentified bad actors gained access to cryptocurrency accounts.
• Represented a major US corporation in a transatlantic investigation into a sophisticated hack and theft of crypto assets. This involved working closely with the FBI in the US and the UK National Crime Agency’s cybercrime department.
• Defence of an international private client in the landmark case AA v Persons Unknown. This was the first case where a high court judge recognised cryptocurrency as “property”.
• Represented a corporate entity in the landmark case of Ion Science v Persons Unknown. This case is widely recognised as the first ICO fraud case to go before the commercial court, and the first time a court considered the location of Bitcoin for jurisdictional purposes. An injunction was obtained to freeze crypto assets.
• Representation of an English cryptocurrency exchange that was subject to a sophisticated hack, leading to investigations in nations including the Seychelles, Belarus and Ukraine. 

Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery

• ACTING for a leading private bank in a politically sensitive, multi-jurisdictional asset tracing and recovery mandate arising from systemic kleptocracy and large-scale non-performing loan fraud in the Far East, involving losses in the hundreds of millions.
• ACTING for an international digital asset company in one of the largest and most complex alleged stablecoin reserve frauds, involving the misappropriation of over USD 450 million through offshore structures, and leading a multi-jurisdictional asset tracing and recovery strategy with parallel proceedings and enforcement action across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
• Represented a multi-national corporate in a worldwide asset recovery investigation arising from its subsidiary being targeted in a phishing fraud.
• Representation of an international private client in a global asset recovery investigation spanning jurisdictions in South Africa, Europe, the UK and North America.
• Represented a UK company in an asset recovery investigation relating to wrongdoing in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
• Defence of a UK company in High Court proceedings following an HMRC investigation into a £4 million VAT fraud. 
• Defended a professional services firm and its CEO that were subject to High Court proceedings in a HMRC probe concerning a £12 million labour supply fraud.
• Defence of an executive in relation to 19 account freezing and forfeiture orders and a criminal investigation into a £60 million money laundering operation.
• Defended a group of companies and its executives in civil recovery proceedings brought by the NCA under Part 5 of POCA, following allegations of money laundering and tax evasion.
• Representation of an individual in civil recovery proceedings brought by the NCA under Part 5 of POCA, following allegations of drug trafficking, money laundering and mortgage fraud.
• Defence of an individual in a Part 6 POCA investigation, where the NCA adopted the powers of HMRC and made allegations of undisclosed income and capitals gain tax liabilities.

Advisory/Compliance  

• Advised a multi-national cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) art dealer on compliance with UK and US money laundering and sanctions law.
• Advised a global fintech company on regulatory matters and FCA compliance.
• Conducted an internal investigation for a well-established European confectionery company in relation to HMRC VAT investigations.