Natasha Wong KC

Practice Profile

Natasha Wong is a leading Criminal Silk Ranked as a Leader in Financial Crime and Crime in Chambers & Partners UK Bar every year since 2013 and a Leading individual in the Legal 500 every year since 2012.

FINANCIAL CRIME AND REGULATORY:

Specialist defence counsel with expertise over the full range of investigations into civil fraud, financial crime, confiscation, regulatory and disciplinary hearings. Her practice is focused particularly on defending those charged with or being investigated in respect of serious and complex fraud cases, allegations of cheating the revenue, money laundering, bribery and corruption. Has also acted for professional clients accused of false accounting, theft from client accounts, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and a range of disciplinary matters. Recent work includes representing the rights of third parties in confiscation proceedings, regulatory proceedings in the Upper Tax Tribunal, and acting for a defendant charged with EURIBOR manipulation . Many of her cases involve multi-jurisdictional aspects as well as detailed legal arguments, including the admissibility of evidence, joinder and severance, challenging and advising upon expert evidence, legal professional & litigation privilege, applications to stay the proceedings on the grounds of abuse of process and or fitness to stand trial, public interest immunity and disclosure issues, dismissal applications and submissions of no case to answer. Very experienced at managing large quantities of documents, disclosure databases and expert forensic evidence.

Also provides advice and guidance  to professional clients, compliance/regulatory issues that arise during the course of their business, financial irregularities and their liabilities under the Bribery Act and HMRC legislation.

Natasha Wong QC also acts for professional clients in  contested regulatory proceedings where the regulating body seeks their erasure or suspension from practice.

CRIME:

Natasha Wong QC has a wealth of experience in acting in numerous cases involving homicide in particular matters where defendants and witnesses are said to be vulnerable. Cases have included gang related murders involving firearms and cases involving infants. She is instructed privately to represent individuals facing serious allegations under the Sexual Offences Act.

Most recent cases in Crime (2019) have  also involved contested high profile allegations of joint enterprise murder, involving vulnerable defendants with significant psychological and psychiatric profiles, in cases involving cut throat defences. Registered to undertake Public Access work.

Natasha's Privacy Policy can be downloaded here.

News

• R v. D [Wood Green] 2020

  Murder of friend following drink & drugs orgy

  Natasha Wong QC and Valeria Swift successfully defended man accused of murdering his friend in a fight following a night of drink and drug taking. The deceased suffered from significant heart disease and traumatic brain injury. Case involved exploration of issue of causation with evidence from numerous leading medical experts, including neuro-pathologists, cardiologists, histo-pathologists, toxicologists and forensic pathologists. Instructed by Ben Thomas of Sternberg Reed.

• R v. KK & 5 ors [C.C.C.] 2019

  Murder of Sierra Leone teacher in South London Arson Attack

  Natasha Wong QC and Valeria Swift secured the acquittal of their client, an autistic teenager with severe learning disabilities, at the end of a 12 week murder trial involving six defendants at the Old Bailey. A woman became the innocent victim of a drugs feud when she died in an arson attack just hours before she was due to return home to Sierra Leone. The 46 year old Teacher, was staying with relatives in Woolwich, South East London, when the blaze broke out. Client found not guilty of joint enterprise murder, manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to multiple victims. Instructed by Jatinder Sokhal of TBW Solicitors.

• R v. G & ors [Southwark] 2019

  Conspiring to defraud the Legal Aid Agency and perverting the course of justice

  Natasha Wong QC leading Merry Van Woodenberg of 2 Hare Court acted for a Compliance Manager acquitted of conspiring to defraud the Legal Aid Agency and perverting the course of justice. The defendant was the Compliance Manager of a London firm of immigration solicitors who was alleged to have played a central role in a scheme to create and submit fraudulent claims to the Legal Aid Agency ( LAA, previously the Legal Services Commission) over a 6 year period. The Compliance Manager , a former employee of the LAA, was also said to have been instrumental in misleading them through correspondence and telephone calls during the course of the  investigation. The Crown had alleged the firm made over 4000 fraudulent claims on behalf of bogus clients, creating convincing forgeries of documents belonging to genuine clients in support of purported genuine  applications to the Home Office . This scheme comprised 40% of the firm’s income from the Legal Aid Agency over that period. The Crown’s had estimated the total value of the fraud at about £4 million.The client was acquitted by the jury in under an hour of deliberations. 

  The principals of the firm were convicted of the conspiracy last year.

  Instructed by Graeme Hydari of Hodge Jones and Allen. 

   

• R v N & anr [Central Criminal Court] 2019

  Landmark F.G.M Trial

  Natasha Wong QC led Paul Walker in the landmark Old Bailey trial involving the defence of a mother and partner under the Female Genital Mutilation Act. The case involved Complex expert medical evidence, child witnesses and extensive evidence of the defendant’s involvement and belief in witchcraft. The case attracted considerable media attention.

  Sky News - BBC News - CNN

• R v. Nazzary & ors [C.C.C.] 2018

  Gang knife attack

  Natasha Wong QC led Dickon Reid in the defence of a vulnerable young man with very limited English who was acquitted of joint enterprise murder and manslaughter as secondary party in alleged gang knife attack involving a drug debt. Instructed by Thomas Boyd Whyte Solicitors.

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Notable Cases

• HMRC v Peter Storrie [Southwark] 2011

  Former chief executive of Portsmouth City Football Club accused of cheating the public revenue

  Natasha Wong QC was junior trial counsel for acquitted former chief executive of Portsmouth City Football Club accused of cheating the public revenue. Instructed by Paul Martin & Co.