Ivan Pearce

Year of Call: 1994

A “meticulous junior destined for the very top”, according to the 2008 edition of Chambers Directory.

The same edition notes that “his practice centres around money laundering, asset forfeiture and confiscation. He acted on R v Rigby and Bailey at the Court of Appeal in a case where defendants faced confiscation proceedings based on the increase in share price generated by misleading statements made to the market”

The 2007 edition praised him as an “excellent hard worker”, “”one to watch”, and an “expert in large SFO cases”.

Ivan Pearce’s practice centres around fraud, money laundering, market offences (insider dealing/cartel), asset forfeiture and confiscation.

Ivan has represented both the prosecution and defence, receivers and third parties, and foreign governments. He has appeared in high-profile fraud trials and other cases involving business crime in the High Court, Crown Court, Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. He has also represented and advised parties in civil forfeiture applications under the DTA and POCA 2002 including defending in trials of such actions in the High Court.

He is often called upon to provide advice to professionals, institutions and private companies at the early stages of investigations by regulators and prosecution authorities.

International work has included litigation in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Other recent highlights include a substantial high-yield investment fraud, an action relating to alleged fundraising for Al Quaeda, a review of confiscation and benefit before the House of Lords, a large MTIC fraud and a major price fixing conspiracy/cartel.

He has lectured and written on subjects including POCA, Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime, The US Patriot Act and Financial Crime on behalf of the Commonwealth, the Government of the USA, the FSA and the CBA amongst others. These lectures have included running an anti money laundering/ financial regulation workshop in Eastern Europe with world banks on behalf of the USA. He is a contributing author of The Anti Money Laundering Guide (CCH Publications) and Smith Owen and Bodnar on Asset Recovery Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery (Oxford University Press).