August 3, 2020
Jamie Sharma led by John McGuinness QC secures £5,450,000 confiscation orders for the SFO against the ex-CEO and COO at FTSE250-listed oil and gas corporation, Afren PLC.
In a prosecution brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office, Osman Shahenshah and Shahid Ullah were found to have abused their positions by arranging the receipt and distribution of side payments during the negotiation of oil contracts worth $300m. Following a two-month trial at Southwark Crown Court, the jury unanimously found the defendants guilty of failing to disclose transactions to the Afren Board and laundering the proceeds of crime through offshore companies for the benefit of a select ‘A-Team’.
Jamie was instructed in 2015 at the commencement of the SFO’s investigation, retained in 2018 by the SFO’s specialist Proceeds of Crime and International Assistance Division and in 2019 before the Court of Appeal. He is a specialist lawyer in white-collar crime, global investigations, tax litigation and civil fraud. He continues to be instructed in a number of major SFO cases.