Overview
Jonathan Pickworth is Head of the London Investigations and White Collar Defense practice. He has more than three decades of experience representing corporates and individuals in investigations by U.K. and international agencies. He also advises firms on internal investigations, due diligence, compliance, and risk in relation to criminal and regulatory matters. Mr. Pickworth’s practice focuses on allegations relating to money laundering, corruption, market misconduct, fraud, tax evasion, and insider trading. He frequently interacts with the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency, HM Revenue & Customs, the Financial Conduct Authority, the police, and other agencies.
Chambers UK 2020 notes that Mr. Pickworth is "clearly very knowledgeable about all matters relating to white-collar crime and is very easy to work with."
Recognitions
- Named a 'Leading Individual' for Fraud: White-Collar Crime (Advice to Individuals) - The Legal 500 UK 2023
- Named a 'Hall of Fame' for Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime - The Legal 500 UK 2023
- Ranked Band 4 for Chambers High Net Worth 2021 - Financial Crime: High Net Worth Individuals - UK. Clients describe him as "incredibly well connected, a wonderful rainmaker and knows everybody in the profession. He has great judgement."
- Ranked Band 1 for Financial Crime: Corporates/Individuals, Chambers UK 2020
- Ranked as a leader in his field in Chambers UK since 2011
- Listed as a Leading Individual for both Fraud: White Collar Crime and Regulatory Investigations & Corporate Crime, Legal 500 UK 2020
- Ranked in The International Who's Who for Business Crime Defense and as a Thought Leader, every year since 2011
- Honored as Lawyer of the Week, The Times (“Jonathan Pickworth, solicitor who acted for trader in currency FX case”), November 2018
Education
- The College of Law, Chester
- Emmanuel College, MA, Cambridge
- Nottingham Trent University, LLM
Representations
- Advised a financial institution regarding a multijurisdictional internal investigation in relation to failures in systems and controls related to money laundering
- Advised a major global corporate regarding an internal investigation into allegations of fraud and corruption in relation to an LNG to power infrastructure project
- Advised a company in the mining sector regarding an internal investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption
Advised an insurance provider in relation to potential breaches of financial sanctions and a related review of sanctions policies and procedures - Represented and secured the acquittal of Richard Usher, a senior bank trader, in connection with a worldwide investigation and prosecution of the alleged manipulation of foreign exchange benchmarks by the Department of Justice and other agencies
- Represented a major global engineering, construction, and services company in a worldwide corruption investigation into the bribery of government officials in Nigeria
- Advised a global logistics company in an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into allegations of bribery of foreign government officials
- Acting for a senior executive in the oil industry in relation to a Serious Fraud Office investigation and prosecution relating to alleged bribery in post-war Iraq
- Advised an individual in relation to a high-profile criminal investigation by HM Revenue & Customs
- Representing an individual in relation to an overseas bribery investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and the Department of Justice
- Representing one of the defendants in the prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office relating to an alleged fraud against the U.K. government by G4S
- Conducted an internal investigation for a life sciences company in relation to allegations of bribery and corruption in Eastern Europe
- Represented a global logistics company in a worldwide tax fraud investigation
- Advised a global defense company in relation to an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office of allegations of bribery and corruption in east Asia
Engagement & Publications
- Author, "Catching Criminals Could Get Harder Post-Brexit", Law360, January 2021
- Chair of GIR Interactive, London, Global Investigations Review, December 2020
- Co-author and co-editor with Jo Dimmock, Bribery & Corruption, 8th edition, Global Legal Insights, December 2020
- Author, "In Brief: Money Laundering Offences in United Kingdom", Lexology, June 2020
- Editor and author, "Anti-Money Laundering", Getting the Deal Through, Lexology, May 2020
- Author, "Blowing the Whistle on Inadequate Protections: How does the New EU Whistleblower Directive Improve on Existing Legislation?", Lexology, November 2019
- Co-author with Jo Dimmock, "Co-operation or Capitulation? What the SFO Corporate Co-operation Guidance Really Means", Lexology, August 2019
- Author, "Wearing a Wire Won’t Cut it for Witnesses in Britain", The Times (opinion piece in The Brief), July 2019
- Speaker, ACI’s Anti-Corruption Conference, Washington, D.C., November 2018
- Author, "First Unexplained Wealth Order Challenge Treads Familiar Ground for Compliance Professionals", Lexology, October 2018
- Co-author with Jo Dimmock, "Money Laundering Goes Mainstream – How will the FCA Respond?", Lexology, January 2018
- Author, "Facilitating Tax Evasion: How to Avoid Being Unwittingly Caught by the Criminal Finances Act 2017", Lexology, November 2017
- Co-author with Jo Dimmock, "How Phil Ivey Fundamentally Changed the Concept of Dishonesty in English Criminal Law", Lexology, January 2017
- Author, "Beware the Regulator Cracking Down on Corporate Hospitality", Financial Times, May 2016
Involvement
- Founding Member, Corporate Crime Committee, City of London Law Society