Simon Draycott Q.C.

Year of Call: 1977 
Year of Silk: 2002

Simon Draycott Q.C. prosecutes and defends in a range of areas and specialises in serious fraud and other financial crime, in particular multi-jurisdictional asset tracing and money laundering.

In 1995 he was appointed Standing Counsel to HM Customs and Excise. He became an assistant recorder in 1998 and a recorder in 2000. He took silk in 2002. He was appointed Head of Chambers at 5 St Andrews Hill in 2003, one of the leading sets in relation to asset forfeiture and confiscation with members being at the cutting edge of legal development in this area. The set has traditionally been one of the leading specialist prosecutors for Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office ("RCPO"), and were second in terms of earnings from RCPO in the last five years.

Simon has prosecuted a number of highly complex multi handed Missing Trader Intra Community ("MTIC") frauds on behalf of RCPO and consequential high value confiscation hearings including R v Hening and others the largest confiscation hearing in the UK. In addition Simon has defended in a number of fraud and murder cases.

Simon is currently working on: Operation Blada, appearing for RCPO in the VAT Tribunal in a case associated with an MTIC fraud resulting in a £4 million fraud against the UK government. Operation Varlet is a £55 million MTIC carousel fraud, with 19 potential defendants with a VAT loss of £60million on sales of £350million. Operation Echogramme a sophisticated money laundering operation filtering criminal proceeds through Hong Kong via Gibraltar and through a solicitors account in the UK. This involves the laundering of two separate MTIC frauds through Gibraltar, to the UK by using shell companies to deal in property.

Chambers and Partners Guide to the Legal Profession 2010 said of Simon:

"a very good jury advocate, who has the ability to put across very difficult cases." He is applauded for the "courteous and helpful" way he goes about his cases.

Appointments

• Recorder (2000)

Specialist Practice Areas

• Crime
• Fraud
• Asset Forfeiture & Confiscation
• Sex Offences
• Regulatory
• Road Traffic Law
• Health & Safety
• Direct Access Representation
• Direct Access - How to Proceed

Cases of Note

• R-v-Rush
  Prosecuting complex money laundering operation. Rigid Inflatable boats built in the UKwire transported to Southern Spain and sold to drug dealers. Money received treated as proceeds of crime. First co-ordinated joint Anglo Spanish operation. Telephone intercepts from Spain admitted in evidence.
• R-v-Hendy-Freegard
  Defending very unusual case of kidnapping by fraud and monetary fraud upon females and their families. Three month trial resulted in acquittals on kidnapping by fraud counts.
• R-v-J. Wooley and Jones
  .Prosecution of £10million pound confiscation hearing following on from a successful prosecution of a £50 million MTIC fraud. Case resulted in a confiscation order in the region of £5 million
• R-v-R. Wooley and others
  Prosecuting £50,000,000 MTIC fraud. Successful convictions and confiscation order of £9 million of assets awarded.
• R-v-Rahimi
  Defending one of ten members of a North London gang who killed a man who they wrongly believed to be a member of a rival gang. Case resulted in an acquittal of murder.
• R-v-Day
  Defending one of three members of a drugs gang who suspected that a fourth member was stealing their customers. They bludgeoned him to death in his flat in front of his girlfriend. Case resulted in an acquittal of murder.
• R-v-Hening and others
  Prosecuting a highly complex £60 million MTIC fraud. Eight defendants split into two trials. Successful convictions on seven defendants. Hening sentenced to 15 years, which was the highest sentence for any fraud. Sentence upheld in Court of Appeal. Confiscation hearing with benefit of £60 million and assets of £30 million listed in 2009.
• R-v-Cusden and others
  Defending one of four youths aged between 13 and 17 who randomly beat to death an alcoholic in the street.
• R-v-Cai
  Defending in an 18 handed murder trial of Vietnamese nationals who ran a number of houses growing hydroponic cannabis. One of their number was tortured and murdered when suspected of stealing a crop. Acquitted of murder.
• R v MC (Crown Court)
  Trial in absence of defendant charged with three child sex offences.
• R -v- Paul Day T20077093 (Crown Court)
• Operation Tangelo II (Crown Court)
  Member of the disclosure team devising strategy and reviewing material in relation to a multi-million pound Excise and VAT Fraud.