Recent and current cases in fraud and financial crime include:

• R v H  Successfully represented the finance director for a multi-million turnover company said to be involved in a highly sophisticated conspiracy to cheat HMRC of £21mil VAT across the construction, electrical and logistics sectors.  Primary operations were directed by the head of the OCG from prison, whilst the cheat took place across borders between UK and Dubai.  Evidence consisted of banking evidence, recorded calls from prison, Encro-chat conversations, and criminal accounting records seized from computers.  Acquitted after a trial. 
• R v O  Represented O, a Swiss banker who was tried at Southwark Crown Court for defrauding the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund.  Approximately $11m in ‘introducer’ or ‘distributer’ fees were taken from deals managing the fund’s $850 mil wealth and were funnelled overseas to foreign accounts in the Seychelles/Monaco. 
• R v A  Represented A in against charges of money-laundering and possessing false instruments, relating to the proceeds of a ‘romance fraud’.  A held 130 bank accounts in his own name with over £400,000 of money movement nationally and internationally.  It was also said that he was controlling bank accounts in third party names. 
• R v H  Secured acquittal for Director of a services and accounting corporate accused of large-scale tax fraud, concerning the services which the company provided to thousands of self-employed HGV drivers, engineers and others. H was alleged to have formed and operated a tax avoidance structure which was then exploited; inflated deductions were said to have been made to clients’ earnings, corporate tax returns dishonestly prepared, and tax due not paid to HMRC. He and his family were said to have secreted millions from the fraud.  Work exposed such failings in the disclosure processes that the Prosecution offered no evidence.
• R v R  Represented a company director said to have been complicit in a complex and systematic VAT cheat resulting in a total loss to HMRC of £20mil.  R’s company was trading in Voice Over Internet Protocol airtime (VOIP), creating fake deals to offsetting fake deals against VAT received in genuine VOIP sales.   
• R v S   Represented S who was said to have been involved in a large-scale VAT fraud valued at £1.6 mil, together with a co-defendant who he had met in prison (whilst serving a sentence for fraud).  S relied on false identification to rent virtual office facilities and submitted VAT returns and supporting false documentation in support of such.  Evidence includes surveillance evidence, CCTV footage and evidence of IP addresses from which VAT returns were submitted. 
• R v S   Represented S who was said to have laundered the proceeds of his own large-scale nationwide Cannabis supply operation, transferring cash to crypto currencies.  The proceeds of the criminal enterprise were originally estimated at over £8mil over a three-year period, and the NCA investigations into the crypto wallets and transactions suggest £130 mil worth of transactions.
• R v Z   Represented Z in High Court civil recovery proceedings in relation to one of the world’s largest ever seizure of Cryptocurrency by a prosecuting authority.  Crypto wallets containing cryptocurrency currently estimated at £2.75 billion were made subject to a PFO. 
• R v B  Represented B at trial against a private prosecution by the Premier League for Conspiracy to Defraud of value £7.7mil arising from the largest UK illegal broadcasting of IPTV services in breach of copyright. The case went to the Court of Appeal in relation to confiscation proceedings. 
• R v S   Instructed for confiscation proceedings following S’s conviction for defrauding £37 mil through ‘green’ investment schemes.  Criminal benefit alleged to be c £48mil. 
• R v A  Represented A in contested forfeiture proceedings relating to funds received through a Hawala informal money transfer.  The evidence in the case includes material relating to property sales and funds transfers in Iraq and the legitimacy of innocent use of unregistered MSBs. 
• C          Represented the family of the convicted defendant as an interested party seeking to retain the family home despite the defendant having a 33% legal interest in the property.  Successfully argued the existence of a constructive trust in favour of the defendant’s father, thereby reducing the defendant’s beneficial interest (and therefore available property) to nil. 

Philippa appears regularly in the Court of Appeal. She was a contributing author of Taylor on Criminal Appeals (second edition).

Notable appearances in Court of Appeal include:

• R v Gary Fulton Re: POCA 2002 and benefit from criminal conduct in money laundering in the course of employment in a Money Services Bureau
• R v Edwards (Steadman) CCRC referral of historic murder case involving alleged ‘cell confessions’
• R v Lang & Ors. Guideline case on CJA 2003 'dangerousness' provisions;
• Athwal & Athwal. Guideline case on ‘recent fabrication’ and s120 CJA 2003.
• CCRC referrals to the Court of Appeal against historic convictions based on events that took place whilst the Appellants were acting as a Sub-Postmasters, relying on the Post Office ‘Capture’ software and hardware; a computer system in use prior to the introduction of the Post Office ‘Horizon’ computer system whose reliability was called into question during the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry into the scandal (ongoing)

Recent notable cases include:

• R v B  As leading counsel, achieved acquittal of the charge of attempt murder after a trial.  B coordinated a shooting in a gang feud, sourcing a vehicle with cloned plates, driving the shooter to the location of the attack, and providing his home as a rendezvous point.  The attack took place at the memorial site of a victim of a previous gang shooting and was said to be in retaliation for B’s violent kidnap and false imprisonment a year earlier. 
• R v F   Represented F who, together with his brother, had been wrongfully convicted for the brutal double murder of Graham and Carol Fisher during a savage robbery in their home in 2003.  By the time of his acquittal, F had spent 20 years in prison.  He had been convicted at trial in 2005, but had his conviction quashed on appeal following a CCRC referral. 

• R v A  As leading counsel, achieved the acquittal of A of conspiracy to murder and possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life following a trial in the Old Bailey.  A was said to have plotted to kill, acting as a ‘spotter’ during a street party in Acton, identifying the victim before he was chased down by a shooter using a handgun.

• R v D  Represented D who was acquitted of murder after a 10-week trial in the Old Bailey.  He had admitted being ‘hired muscle’ involved in kidnapping a Turkish DJ and his girlfriend off the street and handing them over to a Turkish mafia gang.  The DJ was tortured to death within hours as D waited outside the premises.  Co-defendants were convicted of manslaughter.

• R v S   Represented S was said to have run an immense (multi-million pound) nationwide Cannabis supply operation, close to the point of importation, heading up companies and renting warehouse space to run the enterprise.
• R v K  Represented K who was a said to be senior figure an Irish Organised Crime Group, involved in a plot to try to get a reduced sentence for the head of the gang’s UK operation.  The plan was to fool the NCA by collecting and then divulging the whereabouts of numerous firearms, including Scorpion pistols and submachine guns sourced by K. K was extradited from Ireland where he is imprisoned for his role in the attempted murder of a senior figure in the rival gang, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Issues included the interaction of sentences imposed in Republic of Ireland and UK.
• R v S   Represented S who played a significant role in a large-scale, nationwide conspiracy to produce cannabis.  D was responsible for sourcing and managing properties which were converted into cannabis-growing factories across South Wales and North-East England. 

Philippa brings her extensive experience in criminal law and criminal justice proceedings and advocacy to Public Inquiries.  She represented the families of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley Kumar and Ian Coates in the significant ongoing statutory Inquiry concerning the attacks by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham in June 2023, focussing in particular on police, CPS and criminal justice failings and learning.

"It's like having a silk on board with Philippa. She is a strategic decisionmaker and has meticulous attention to detail." Chambers & Partners 2026 (Financial Crime)

"Philippa has a phenomenal work ethic and provides clear and concise advice. She is one of the best juniors at the bar." Chambers & Partners 2026 (Financial Crime)

 "Philippa is phenomenal. She is so thorough and works so hard. She is a class act all round." Chambers & Partners 2026 (Financial Crime)

"Philippa’s preparation and drafting is second to none. She is very calming and brings out the best in clients, especially at the point they need to give evidence." Legal 500 2026 (General Crime)

"She is a very bright and very insightful practitioner." Legal 500 2026 (Fraud and white-collar crime)

“Philippa is a silk in the making, outstanding with her written work and a master tactician. She is great on her feet and puts clients at ease.” Chambers & Partners 2025 (Financial Crime)

"Astute and hard-working, Philippa Eastwood is a brilliant advocate with an eye for detail in the most sophisticated fraud cases." Chambers & Partners 2025 (Financial Crime)

"Philippa is an extremely hard-working barrister who is able to deal with any type of client. Her attention to detail is phenomenal which means she is able to isolate the gaps in the prosecution case and challenge them on these points with such tenacity. Her legal submissions are also well drafted and well advocated upon. This makes her an advocate who is respected by the judiciary, her peers, her instructing solicitors as well as clients." Legal 500 2025 (General Crime)

"Philippa is a first-rate advocate. She is incredibly hard-working, intelligent, and great with professional and lay clients." Legal 500 2025 (Financial Crime)

 “A clear, persuasive and effective advocate.” Legal 500 (General Crime)

 “Very client-friendly and great to work with.” Legal 500 (Fraud)

 “Thorough, sensitive to client needs and extremely well prepared.” Chambers & Partners (Financial Crime)

"She achieves wonderful results.” Chambers & Partners (Financial Crime)