Neill Blundell Partner

Partner
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Neill leads the firm’s corporate crime and investigations practice.

Neill is a specialist white collar and regulatory defence lawyer who advises both individuals and corporates on compliance, pre-investigations, investigations and prosecutions conducted by UK agencies such as the FCA, SFO, CMA, HMRC, NCA, and the CPS. He also assists in multi-jurisdictional investigations involving agencies such as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the FIOD (Netherlands), the US Department of Justice, the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Neill is also an expert on sanctions law and advises corporates and individuals on UK, EU and US sanctions with an emphasis on the implications of conducting business with Russian entities and individuals.

He is also an expert on building anti-fraud, AML, anti-bribery and Criminal Finance Act compliance programmes and in providing the training for clients in anti-fraud and culture awareness. He recently edited the Money Laundering and Disclosure of Suspicious Transactions chapters of Millington and Sutherland Williams on The Proceeds of Crime, a leading textbook.

Neill is a qualified solicitor-advocate.

Professional memberships

  • Fraud Lawyers Association (Committee Member)
  • Proceeds of Crime Lawyers’ Association
  • Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers
  • European Criminal Bar Association
  • European Fraud & Compliance Lawyers
  • International Bar Association

Expertise

Recent work

SFO investigation

Representing a corporate that was the subject of raids by the SFO.

Company investigations

Acting for an AIM listed business following its shares being suspended due to financial irregularities.

Judicial review

Representing a company that was subject to raids and document seizures by the NCA under warrants including a judicial review of the validity of the warrants used.

SFO investigation

Acting on an SFO investigation into bribery and corruption on contracts won in Europe. The matter commenced with an internal investigation that led to a self-report being made to the SFO and negotiations for the company to be offered a Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

Bribery investigation

Acting on an investigation into criminal wrongdoing on a European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) funded project. This led to the first ever EBRD civil penalty for a bribery related issue.

SFO prosecution

Acting for the former Chairman of JJB Sports in successful SFO prosecution for £100m misleading the market.

Anti-bribery compliance programme

Acting for an international engineering company on its anti-bribery compliance programme, including a full audit of its current processes, interviewing key stake holders and introducing training including a culture awareness programme.

Risk assessment

Acting for a large port operator on the requirements of the Criminal Finance Act and helping to undertake the risk assessment process.

HMRC prosecution

Acting for the senior executive of an internet business in an HMRC prosecution at a crown court for conspiracy to defraud.

FCA investigation

Acting for a major asset management firm on a FCA investigation into its best execution arrangements and performance.

Money laundering

Acting for an international investment bank into an internal investigation into allegations of money laundering by the daughter of a president of a nation state, involving the SFO and its Dutch counterpart, FIOD.

Sanctions advice and representation

Acting for a German State authority in relation to the impact of sanctions on an entity under German liquidation and dealing with OFSI.

See all

What people are saying

Next

"Neill Blundell has instructed me in a number of high profile cases, with clients from here and abroad. He promotes others and is a champion of diversity. One of his team, Lorna Emson recently was elected as a partner in the firm. That was a justified and well-earned promotion."

The Legal 500 2023

"Neill Blundell gave me absolute confidence that I was receiving the best possible advice throughout the process. Although I always tried to give an honest picture of the facts involved, it was to Neill’s credit that he was able to pull everything together in a coherent way."

The Legal 500 2023

"Neill Blundell is as sharp as they come, affable but hard-hitting. A pleasure to observe operate."

The Legal 500 2023

"Neill is one of the calmest and most experienced in the sector. He knows everything there is to know about handling the SFO and multinational organisations."

Chambers HNW 2022

"Neil Blundell brings a wealth of experience from early years in general crime followed by decades of white collar crime expertise. he has won some huge cases, in ensuring clients were not even prosecuted in some of the most significant investigations of the past twenty years."

The Legal 500 2023

"Neil Blundell, a genuine star, been around for years but retains a youthful enthusiasm."

The Legal 500 2023

Quick reads

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In depth

Legal services prohibition and General Licence

Neill Blundell, Francis Bond, Jessica Arapu 18 Aug 2023
UK Government issues Russia legal services prohibition followed by General Licence to permit compliance advice.
Read more

Government to make it easier to convict corporates for senior managers’ wrongdoing

Dominic Sedghi, Neill Blundell, Helen Harvey 21 Jun 2023
Proposed reforms would automatically attribute criminal liability to corporate bodies where their senior managers commit certain offences, including on corporate transactions
Read more

What will it take to de-designate? A landmark sanctions challenge fails

Neill Blundell, Francis Bond, Jessica Arapu 24 Mar 2023
A landmark challenge to a sanctions designation in the English courts has failed, but the case offers an interesting guide to both how sanctions are implemented in the UK and how...
Read more