Ranked in the Chambers UK Legal Guide for both financial crime and crime, Rupert is a polished and sought-after barrister routinely instructed in the defence and prosecution of lengthy and complex cases involving financial crime, in particular in ‘white collar’ work, as well as in murder and other serious crime cases. He is regularly instructed as leading counsel, and also appears as a led junior or junior alone. He is a Grade 4 CPS General Crime Advocate Panel member, receives Serious Fraud Office instruction (being security cleared), and is public access qualified.
In relation to financial crime, Rupert is both a Grade 4 CPS Fraud Specialist Advocate Panel member and a Serious Fraud Office B Panel member, and has advisory and advocacy experience (for both the prosecution and defence, and on appeal) in the following areas:
Business crime
Insolvency
Asset restraint
Confiscation
Money laundering
Investment fraud
Banking fraud
Pension fraud
Tax fraud
Mandate fraud
Duty evasion fraud
Immigration fraud
Procurement fraud
Bribery
In relation to serious crime, Rupert is a Grade 4 CPS Serious Crime Specialist Advocate Panel member, and a Grade 4 CPS Counter Terrorism Specialist Advocate Panel member, and has advisory and advocacy experience (as above) in the following areas:
Rupert Kent was instructed by Lansbury Worthington Solicitors as led junior in this three-month fraud case involving £20m of funds, misappropriated as a result of a large-scale VAT acquisition fraud involving the use of sham trade to apparently offset output tax received in the course of legitimate transactions.
Rupert Kent was instructed by Brooklyn Law as junior alone in this fraud case involving £2m of misappropriated funds, taken from a high net worth individual. After pleading guilty to a lesser offence, albeit relating to the same value of loss, the defendant received a 20-month prison sentence, deemed served through a combination of time spent on remand and on a qualifying curfew.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS London Complex Casework Unit as leading junior in this two-handed money laundering case, involving the activities of an organised criminal group who laundered the criminal proceeds of stolen, and ‘rung’, vehicles.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS’s Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate as a led junior in this three-handed three-month trial centring around the large-scale and dishonest procurement of goods by an employee of, and suppliers to, an NHS Trust.
Rupert Kent was instructed by Kangs Solicitors as a led junior in a 7-month trial of eight defendants alleged to have been complicit in the United Kingdom’s largest ever money laundering scheme, in which £266 million in cash was allegedly laundered through the international trading of gold bullion.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS London Complex Casework Unit as leading junior in this eight-handed immigration fraud, arising from a Home Office investigation into the large-scale abuse of the UKBA’s Tier 2 (skilled workers) leave-to-remain visa system.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS London Complex Casework Unit as leading junior in this four-handed money laundering case, involving the activities of an organised criminal group who laundered the criminal proceeds of stolen, and ‘rung’, vehicles.
Rupert Kent was instructed by teh CPS Proceeds of Crime Unit as a led junior in confiscation proceedings arising out of this 4-handed conspiracy to convert criminal property prosecution.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a led junior in this 5-handed conspiracy to convert criminal property prosecution. The case comprised over 12,000 pages of served evidence and almost 100 witnesses, and involved the service and disclosure of US-sourced material.
Rupert Kent was instructed by DJMS Solicitors as junior alone in this opposed pre-charge application for the extension of a moratorium period under s.336A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, arising from a Defence Against Money Laundering request made in relation to a suspect bank account.
Rupert Kent was instructed by ABV Solicitors as junior alone (two-counsel application pending) in this nine-handed fraud case, involving the alleged activities of a criminal network in removing £500,000 from customers’ bank accounts. The case comprises over 50,000 pages of evidence.
Rupert Kent was instructed by Kangs Solicitors as a junior alone (QC application pending) in this 13-handed money laundering case, involving the alleged laundering of £260m in the proceeds of crime. The case comprises 15,000 pages of evidence, and the trial has a four-month time-estimate.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS as a junior alone (two-counsel application pending) in this six-handed money laundering case, involving the activities of a bureau-de-change concerned in the large-scale laundering of criminal pound sterling into Euro currency.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division as junior alone in this three-handed revenue evasion case, arising from an HMRC investigation into the activities of a UK-based organised criminal network involved in the evasion of £41.5m in tobacco duty, and the smuggling of £6.7m in cash out of the UK.
Rupert Kent was instructed as junior alone by the Insolvency Service to prosecute a defendant accused of s.387 Companies Act 2006, s.13 Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, and s.235 Insolvency Act 1986 offences, and arising from the defendant’s various failures after his property company went into administration.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a led junior in this eight-handed immigration fraud, arising from an HMRC investigation into the large-scale abuse of the UKBA’s Tier 2 (skilled workers) leave-to-remain visa system.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division in this four-handed revenue investigation case arising from a joint police and HMRC investigation into the activities of a UK-based organised criminal network involved in the evasion of tobacco duty.
Rupert Kent was instructed as junior alone by the Insolvency Service to prosecute a defendant accused of a s.354 Insolvency Act 1986 concealing property offence, arising from the removal of property after the making of a bankruptcy order, itself arising from an initial failure to pay taxes to HMRC.
Rupert Kent was instructed as junior counsel by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division in a conspiracy to defraud case arising from a large-scale, complicated, carbon credits ‘investments’ scam leading to £2.4m worth of loss, and comprising over 15,000 pages of evidence.
Rupert Kent was instructed as leading counsel by the CPS International Justice and Organised Crime Division to prosecute a money laundering case relating to £6m worth of the proceeds of numerous international invoice diversion frauds. This case arose out of a large multi-jurisdictional National Crime Agency investigation, and comprised 6,000 pages of served evidence.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the SFO to give legal professional privilege advice in relation to material seized during the search of a solicitors firm, members of which were being investigated for the layering of criminal profit through international client accounts.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a junior alone in confiscation proceedings arising from a £7m drug importation prosecution in which he had appeared as a led junior. The POCA proceedings involved use of a European Investigation Order to gather information from Belgium relating to a pre-existing foreign confiscation order.
Rupert Kent was instructed as leading counsel by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division in a 7-handed fraudulent evasion prosecution investigated by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. The case involved complicating fitness-to-plead considerations.
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a led junior in this 18-handed conspiracy to convert criminal property prosecution. The case comprised 8,000 pages of evidence and 270 witnesses, and was split into four trials.
"Rupert Kent has a real trust with the jury. He quickly builds up and establishes command of the case so that they can trust his submissions."
Chambers UK 2025 - Financial Crime
"He is a terrific junior and particularly skilled in oral advocacy. Judges love him and his presentation is superb."
Chambers UK 2025
"Rupert is bright, industrious and engaging."
Chambers UK 2025
“His work pulling out what was relevant and important was exceptional and his advocacy was thorough”
Chambers UK 2024
“His arguments are very easily digestible by the jury and impeccably presented"
Chambers UK 2024
"A confident performer who is very good at controlling the courtroom and his opponents."
Chambers UK 2023
