Anna Rothwell

WORK HIGHLIGHTS

Extradition and International Law

• Anna is acting as part of the team advising Julian Assange in relation to the United States’ extradition request.
• Acting for individuals in extradition matters involving the Russian Federation, United States, France, Hong Kong, Peru and Algeria.
• Successful defence of a dual British-Russian national sought by the Russian Federation for money laundering allegations arising out of alleged bribery and corruption within the Russian shipping industry. In a significant development, the Senior District Judge (in a departure from the approach taken by his predecessors) was persuaded to adopt a wide definition of ‘political opinions’ bringing extradition law in line with the approach taken by the courts in asylum cases. The SDJ found that “this court has been persuaded that there is a risk that this request falls into the category of “sensitive” cases where the interests of the State, big business and the [requested person] are so intertwined that the request is found to be, or possibly be found, driven by motives that are not evidenced based, but rather politically, in the wider sense, motivated.”
• Acted as part of a team (in conjunction with an accountancy firm) conducting an internal investigation on behalf of a UK company into potential breaches of export control licences arising from the provision of armed guards to combat piracy at sea.
• Advising a serving member of an international military force based in the UK about whether the UK authorities have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute them for causing death by careless driving.
• Acting for respondents in contested Account Freezing Order and Account Forfeiture proceedings, including gathering expert and witness evidence, often from overseas, to establish the legitimate origins of the money.

This includes advising two Russian nationals on an application by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) for forfeiture of approximately £13m held in multiple UK bank accounts – the MPS withdrew the application following service of detailed expert and witness evidence and agreed to pay a substantial sum of money in lieu of our clients’ legal costs; and

• Advising a Pakistani national on an application by the National Crime Agency (NCA) for account freezing orders over significant funds held in UK bank accounts.

Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions

• Advising suspects and witnesses in relation to a number of SFO investigations into bribery and corruption, including investigations into ENRC, Quindell, Unaoil, Rolls-Royce, and GSK.
• Advising suspects in NCA/CPS prosecutions for fraud by abuse of position, fraudulent trading and money laundering.
• Represented a suspect in the London Capital and Finance investigation.
• Acted for an executive of a household name company in connection with a major ongoing police investigation; following our representations, the executive was not charged while other suspects were.
• Representing witnesses in several major US and UK civil fraud actions including acting in mutual assistance deposition hearings and in the Commercial Court.
• Successfully represented a high-profile individual acquitted of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving; instructed a number of experts (including from the United States) in order to establish that our client had not acted dangerously. In the face of overwhelming expert evidence, the CPS offered no evidence shortly before trial.
• Successfully represented a high-profile individual under investigation for historic sex offences. No further action was taken following detailed representations to the CPS.
• Advising many clients (including youths) at the police station and beyond in relation to allegations of sexual offences, the majority involving successful representations to the CPS for no prosecution to be pursued. Successfully defended a professional footballer accused of sexual assault of a minor.
• Acted for a senior executive in SFO overseas corruption prosecution relating to Bahrain.
• Advising journalists and in-house lawyers in relation to police investigations.

Career

Anna joined Corker Binning in 2010, having previously worked as a duty solicitor at Wilsons Solicitors. She has a Bachelor of Laws from University College London and a Master’s degree with distinction in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex.

Anna is a committee member of the Defence Extradition Lawyers’ Forum (DELF). She is a member of JUSTICE, the Fraud Lawyers Association (FLA), Women in Criminal Law (WICL) and the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA). She is the former Treasurer of the Extradition Lawyers’ Association. She sat on the JUSTICE Working Party on Prosecuting Sexual Offences in 2018-2019.

News & Insights