Jonathan Fisher KC
Call: 1980 | Silk: 2003
Personal profile
Jonathan Fisher KC is a leading barrister, specialising in financial crime and corporate crime cases.
Ranked by the independent legal directories in Band 1 for Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture, Financial Crime and Corporate Financial Crime, Jonathan is also featured for his work in Fraud (Civil and Criminal), Financial Services Regulation, Corporate Tax Evasion and Sanctions cases.
Jonathan’s recommendations for advisory and advocacy work are extensive and exemplary. He was recently described in The Times as “one of the UK’s most experienced white-collar crime specialists.”
Jonathan is experienced in handling civil law cases in the High Court, criminal prosecutions in the Crown Court and Magistrates Court, and tax and regulatory disputes in the tribunals. He has appeared many times in applications for judicial review in the Administrative Court. Recently, Jonathan successfully led a team of five barristers in a significant money laundering case (National Crime Agency v World Uyghur Congress) which has been recognised as the “development of the year”. Before becoming a KC, Jonathan was Standing Counsel (Criminal) to the Commissioners of Revenue at the Central Criminal Court and London Crown Courts.
Jonathan has a strong advisory practice in all types of financial crime and corporate crime cases. These cases can be highly sensitive and may involve large corporates as well as high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, oligarchs and persons classified as politically exposed. Cross-border issues are frequently encountered.
Jonathan is a Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, a registered practitioner in the Dubai International Financial Court, editor emeritus of the Lloyds Law Reports: Financial Crime series, a columnist for New Law Journal, and a contributor to other journals such as Counsel. His views are frequently sought by the media.
In 2024 Jonathan was appointed to lead the UK Government’s Independent Review into Disclosure of Unused Material in Criminal Cases and Fraud Offences. This is a part-time role which he undertakes from Chambers.
Alongside his practice, Jonathan is a Senior Fellow at LSE teaching Financial Crime on the LLM programme and undertaking research. Jonathan holds a PhD awarded by LSE following his research into the obligation to report suspicious activity in money laundering cases and its engagement with corporate rights. Jonathan has been awarded an Honorary LLD by UWE Bristol in recognition of his contribution to financial crime and financial regulation. LSE Law School has described Jonathan as a barrister with a “distinguished career in both academia and practice”.
Jonathan is available to receive instructions in advisory and advocacy cases as well as inquiries and reviews, giving expert evidence and bespoke professional training.
A full c.v. is available on request. Please contact Jonathan through his clerks.
Recommendations
― Chambers & Partners (2026)Jonathan is my go-to adviser if we have complex sanctions questions.
― Chambers & Partners (2026)Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers is an eminent authority in the field of financial crime. He draws on this wider skill set to adeptly represent private clients and international companies in their sanctions-related matters. His practice includes advising on potential contraventions, export control guidance and designation challenges. He has experience advising on the niche area of anti-corruption sanctions.
― Chambers & Partners (2026)The quality of Jonathan Fisher's advisory work, plus the very high-profile people he acts for, make him a real name in this field. He does the full suite of work, from oligarch-related matters down.
― Chambers & Partners (2026)If I have an asset freezing or money laundering case, I wouldn't consider using anyone else unless he was conflicted.
― Chambers & Partners (2026)A star of the white collar Bar, with the deepest understanding of tax matters.
― Legal 500 (2026)Jonathan possesses technical brilliance with a commercial mind.
― Legal 500 (2026)Jonathan has the ability to see the bigger picture, and he takes a pragmatic approach. He has huge experience.
― Legal 500 (2026)A very intelligent and always thoughtful silk.
― Legal 500 (2025)An expert in his field.
― Legal 500 (2025)Jonathan possesses an absolute mastery of his subject. He exudes quiet and unflappable confidence which calms even the most skittish of clients.
― Chambers UK (2025)I've never known him to get anything wrong and he will do anything for his clients.
― Chambers UK (2025)Jonathan is absolutely brilliant.
― Chambers UK (2025)He will take very complicated cases and distil them quickly to get to the heart.
― Chambers UK (2025)Jonathan is disarmingly gentlemanly and incisive at the same time.
― Chambers UK (2025)He is supremely knowledgeable and has the ability to quickly get to the crux of the matter and apply the law to it.
― Chambers UK (2025)Jonathan absolutely knows his stuff and is one of the first names you reach out to. He's great to work with.
― Chambers UK (2025)Jonathan Fisher KC is one of the most astute and technically adept lawyers in this field. Very few have his level of knowledge of the law.
― Chambers UK (2025)Jonathan Fisher is a really eminent but at the same time approachable King's Counsel. His years of experience are worn lightly.
― Chambers UK (2025)Jonathan is a leading expert who will do anything for his clients.
― Legal 500 (2024)His reputation is second to none. As he practices in a number of jurisdictions, he has an exceptional profile in massive cross-border cases. He is very bright and a super-effective counsel.
― Legal 500 (2024)Jonathan is very astute, quickly understands the important issues and is able to very easily pinpoint the relevant law and explain it in a simple way. He always finds a solution. Aside from his fantastic knowledge of the law and his skill in applying that knowledge, he always makes himself available and his turnaround of work is exceptional.
― Legal 500 (2024)Jonathan is exquisite. He captures the confidence of the client from the very start of any consultation with his mastery of the detail, his clarity of thought and his obvious pre-eminence in the area.
― Chambers UK (2023)He is massively knowledgeable.
― Chambers UK (2023)Jonathan is astute and responsive.
― Chambers UK (2023)Jonathan is a first-rate silk.
― Chambers UK (2023)A fantastic silk who is an absolute must if you require responsive and intelligent, yet practical, advice.
― Legal 500 (2023)Jonathan is user-friendly, astute, authoritative and inspires confidence in clients.
― Legal 500 (2023)Jonathan is a total leader in his field. He is hugely-knowledgeable, responsive and easy to work with. You absolutely feel he is on your side.
― Legal 500 (2023)His reputation is second to none. As he practices in a number of jurisdictions he has an exceptional profile in massive cross border cases. He is, to say the least, very bright and a super effective counsel.
― Legal 500 (2023)Jonathan is a scholarly, meticulous, strategic advocate. His measure and authority commands the attention of the most challenging of tribunals.
― Chambers UK (2022)Jonathan is one of the best in the business for money laundering POCA matters. He understands how the law and the courts work, and as an advocate he is second to none.
― Chambers UK (2022)Jonathan is a fantastic advocate. He explains anti-money laundering issues in a practical and easy way for others to understand.
― Chambers UK (2022)He is the go-to for money laundering and confiscation.
― Legal 500 (2021)Extremely experienced in handling cases involving bribery and corruption.
― Legal 500 (2021)He is a tough yet charming advocate, with a compelling courtroom presence that commands judicial respect.
― Legal 500 (2021)He has an extremely deep knowledge of the law around money laundering and all kinds of financial wrongdoing that straddle criminal and civil fraud law.
Fraud
Jonathan has a Business Crime & Fraud practice, with particular emphasis on Money Laundering & Proceeds of Crime, Fraud and corruption, tax evasion, confiscation and civil recovery cases.
Featured cases
- R (World Uyghur Congress) v The National Crime Agency [2024] EWCA Civ 715 – money laundering investigation, proceeds of crime, modern slavery, identifiable property and adequate consideration in the supply chain, civil recovery.
- National Crime Agency v Riza Aziz, Red Granite Pictures Inc & Z Limited [2020] EWHC 3060 (Admin) – POCA prohibition order restraining assets, extension of SAR moratorium period.
- Ashbolt & Arundell v Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2020] EWHC 1588 (Admin) – Tax avoidance/evasion, application to quash search warrants.
- Nest International v Deloitte (2019) – Dubai International Financial Court of Appeal. Power to add a party in a civil fraud claim involving alleged failure by auditors to satisfy anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing compliance standards)
- Director of the Serious Fraud Office v Eurasian Natural Resources Company [2018] EWCA Civ 2006 – Corporate investigation, alleged corruption, legal professional privilege.
- Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd v Director of Public Prosecutions [2016] Lloyd’s Rep FC 108 – International mutual assistance, restraint order, bribery and corruption, Nigerian oil field.
- Wiese v UKBA [2012] Lloyd’s Rep. F.C. 681 – Proceeds of crime: money laundering, cash forfeiture.
Typically, cases may involve issues relating to asset forfeiture, asset freezing, asset recovery, bribery and corruption, cartels, civil recovery, company books and records offences, confiscation, contempt of court, corporate manslaughter, cross-border transactions, cryptocurrency, data protection, deferred prosecution agreements, environmental offences, export controls, “failure to prevent” corporate offences, false accounting, financial markets and services regulation and offences, fraud, health and safety offences, human rights, informants, internet regulation and offences, gambling offences, insider dealing, investigation powers, legal professional privilege, licence offences, medicines and drug offences, modern slavery, money laundering, mutual legal assistance, obscene publications, offshore jurisdictions, pharmacy offences, privacy rights, privilege against self-incrimination, property law, planning offences, production notices, public-private partnerships, revenue offences, search warrants, social media offences, tax fraud, terrorist financing, theft, trusts, sanctions, US Department of Justice investigations, Serious Fraud Office cases, tax investigations, unexplained wealth orders and whistleblowing.
Financial Services Regulation
Jonathan has experience dealing with a range of Regulatory & Professional Disciplinary cases, most particularly those related to the money laundering regulations, the “fit and proper” requirements, market disclosures and economic sanctions.
Featured cases
- Advising on the making of disclosures under the Proceeds of Crime legislation.
- Advising on the application of the money laundering offences in commercial cases.
- Advising in cases where there has been an alleged breach of the money laundering regulations.
- Advising in corruption cases.
- Advising on behalf of individual and corporate taxpayers on reasons why criminal charges should not be brought in failed tax avoidance/evasion cases.
- Advising on the application of economic sanctions and the continuing validity of licences obtained from HM Treasury.
- Due to the sensitivity of these cases, information which could identify the client is not given.
Education
- PhD, LSE
- Master’s degree in law, LLM, Cambridge University
- BA in Law: 1st Class
Awards
- Department of Education State Scholarship
- Senior Scholarship Award, Gray’s Inn.
- LLD (Honoris Causa)
Professional appointments
- Chair of the UK Government’s Independent Review into Disclosure of Unused Material in Criminal Cases and Fraud Offences
- Senior Fellow and Visiting Professor in Practice, Law School, London School of Economics
- New Law Journal columnist
- Editor Emeritus, Lloyds Law Reports: Financial Crime
- Honorary Member of the London Fraud Forum Steering Group
- Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn
Previous appointments include:
• Commissioner on the Commission on a Bill of Rights
• Specialist adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee
• Trustee Director of the Fraud Advisory Panel
• Committee Member of the Asset Recovery Agency Steering Group
• Legal Panel Member of the Accountancy & Actuarial Discipline Board
• Trustee, International Lawyers Project
• Standing Counsel (Criminal) to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue at the Central Criminal Court and London Crown Courts
Memberships
- Chartered Institute of Taxation (Fellow)
- CBA
- Dubai International Financial Court (registered practitioner)
- Society of Legal Scholars
- South Eastern Circuit
Publications
Books:
- Arlidge & Parry on Fraud, 6th edition, Thomson Sweet & Maxwell, co-author
- The Criminal Finances Act 2017, Informa Law, co-author
- Law of Investor Protection, Sweet & Maxwell, co-author,
Chapters
- The Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce in the United Kingdom, A Critique of an Emerging Model for a Public–Private Information-Sharing Partnership, Max Planck Institute, Intersentia 2024.
- Modernising and Simplifying Tax Evasion Offences in the UK: Response, Criminal Law Reform Now Volume 2: Proposals and Critique, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024.
- ‘Fraud in Civil and Criminal Law’, Research Handbook on International Financial Crime, Edward Elgar
- ‘Fighting Financial Crime in the Global Economic Crisis’, Policing the Financial Markets, Risk and Recklessness, Routledge
- ‘Temas de Anticorruptcao e Compliance’, The UK Bribery Act 2010, Elsevier (Brazil)
- ‘Confiscating the Proceeds of Crime’, International Guide to Money Laundering Law & Practice, Bloomsbury Professional
- ‘EU Directives’, A Practitioner’s Guide to International Money Laundering Law and Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell
Peer-reviewed journals
‘Anti-Corruption Sanctions, The Bribery Act and Unexplained Wealth Order’, Criminal Law Review 2022, 41, co-author
‘Confiscation: Deprivatory and not Punitive’ Criminal Law Review, 2018, 192, co-author.
‘Permanent injunction to prevent market abuse’ Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law 2015, 681
Part 1 of ‘Serious Crime Act 2015: Strengthening the restraint and confiscation regime’, Criminal Law Review, September 2015, 753-765
‘Criminal forms of high frequency trading on the financial markets’, Law and Financial Markets Review, 2015, 113, co-author
‘The vulnerability of HMRC to penetration by criminal actors’, Journal of Money Laundering Control, 2012, 153.