Siobhan Grey

Profile

Siobhan Grey has specialised as a criminal defence advocate for eighteen years in the Crown Court. Her practice has ranged from terrorism and murder to corporate fraud and money laundering. Increasingly, her practice has focused on two principal areas: white collar fraud including market abuse, as well as cases with a particular emphasis on Article 10 – freedom of expression in the context of protest cases, as well as defending one of three men accused of an alleged terrorist plot in a prosecution triggered by an expose in the now defunct News of the World newspaper.

In the context of white collar serious fraud, she has defended in cases brought by the Financial Services Authority, Serious Fraud Office and HM Revenue and Customs including serious revenue, money laundering and POCA related offences. She has extensive experience of dealing with cases involving pensions, market abuse and offences contrary to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as well as restraint, confiscation and enforcement proceedings.

What the Directories say

The ~~"fantastic"~~ Siobhan Grey is at the same set and is a ~~"top-quality"~~ fraud junior according to sources. A ~~"polished advocate,"~~ she has recently been acting in the SFO's prosecution of a conspiracy to defraud £52 million of pension funds. Chambers & Partners 2013.

~~"Very bright and very hard - working, she is adored by clients".~~

Chambers & Partners 2012

Seminars

Siobhan Grey presented a Pan European Forum on the digital media in a changing world at the European Parliament’s Plenary Chamber on 27^th June 2012. The event was broadcast across Europe.

Some of the other speakers included the Vice President of the European Commission, Mrs Neelie Kroes; the Human Rights Commissioner, Nils Muizniek; Ingrid Lieten, Flemish media minister, Gina Nieri, Executive Board member, Mediaset (Italy); Erica Mann, Director EU Affairs, Facebook; Nick Mason of Pink Floyd; Brian Message, Music Managers Forum; Yevgenia Albatz, chief editor of The New Times magazine, (Russia); Heather Blake, Chief executive of NGO, Reporters Without Borders (UK). MEPs included Andrew Duff (UK) Claude Moreaus, (UK); Morten Lokkgaard (Denmark) and Judith Sargentini (Netherlands).

The event can be accessed from the link here, media pluralism.

On 4th February 2010, Siobhan Grey staged a seminar on Press Standards in the United Kingdom entitled, “Gagging the Press - Is the Public Bound to Suffer?” at Gray’s Inn Hall. The event was attended by the senior judiciary; the media; the Press Complaints Commission and NGOs. Siobhan opened the seminar and co-authored an introductory booklet on privacy and libel with Professor Eric Barendt. The seminar was chaired by Lord Justice Moses. The speakers included:

Professor Eric Barendt: Goodwin Professor of Media Law at UCL
Juliet Herd: International editor of HELLO!
Sir Ken Macdonald QC: Former DPP
Max Mosley: Former President of the FIA
Benedict Pavio: Broadcaster for France 24
Alan Rusbridger: Editor of The Guardian Newspaper
Bob Satchwell: Society of Editors

Siobhan staged and introduced a further seminar entitled, Exposed, on 22^nd September 2010 at Tate Modern Gallery which focused on Privacy, Censorship and State Surveillance. Speakers included Lord Hoffmann, retired Law Lord; Henry Porter, Observer Journalist and Alison Jackson, artist and film maker.
Lecture (January 2011) Presented a lecture to The Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn entitled, “Too Much Information: The Dangers of living in the Digital Age.”

Publications

Article (Counsel Magazine, May 2010): The Changing Role of the Press
Article (Counsel Magazine, December 2010) Exposed: Surveillance, Privacy and Censorship.
Article (Counsel Magazine, April 2011) Libel Reform – Is it in the Public Interest?
Co-wrote JUSTICE’s Manual on “Appealing criminal cases to the Court of Appeal.”

Terrorism

R v Fernandes Led junior defence counsel in a case where an undercover operation was said to have revealed a conspiracy to obtain radioactive red mercury and whose main prosecution witness was the News of the World’s “Fake Sheikh” journalist.

Regulatory and Financial Crime

R v Sanders, ~~(2012).~~ Defended the first of five defendants in the first cross jurisdictional prosecution of insider dealing brought by the FSA. The case has been cited in The Lawyer magazine as one of the top 20 cases of 2012.
R v Pitcher. Represented a pensions’ trustee in a conspiracy to defraud involving £50 million of pension funds which were disinvested from the United Kingdom and reinvested internationally. The case is considered the biggest pensions’ fraud since the Maxwell trial in the 1990s.
R v Usher. Represented a company director in a multi-million pound international investment fraud.
R v Hening. Represented a company director in a “Missing Trader” VAT fraud involving the evasion of VAT to the sum of £53 million. The defendant, a French national, was extradited from France and was said to be the mastermind behind the operation.
R v Simeon. Represented a company director on charges of money laundering.
R v Simpson. Money laundering trial culminating in the House of Lords’ decision of R v Montilla ~~[2005] 1. Cr. App. R. 26~~
R v Mehta. Represented a company director in Enforcement proceedings in relation to a VAT fraud involving £10 million.

Homicide and Related Grave Offences

R v Astall. Led junior defence counsel in a case where a man was accused of the manual strangulation and double rape and sexual assault of his partner.
Seton v United Kingdom. Led junior counsel for the first defendant in a gang-land shooting. An application has recently been lodged before the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to a Hearsay evidence. This has progressed to the next stage and the UK government have been asked to respond to the applicant’s submissions.
R v Bowman. Six-day appeal hearing in the Court of Appeal regarding an appellant convicted of murdering. The case included expert evidence from seven pathologists concerning the manifestation of manual strangulation on the deceased after an exhumation 25 years after death. There was further expert evidence from a psychologist pertaining to childhood amnesia.