Peters & Peters

Employee Fraud

We are experts in cases involving employee fraud and frequently act on behalf of both employers and employees.

We have decades of experience in fraud and dishonesty cases so we are ideally placed to help employers and employees with investigations into suspected fraudulent or corrupt activities.

These cases typically have both financial and reputational consequences. We can conduct Internal Investigations (including when an investigation must be sensitive to potential criminal proceedings), as well as dealing with Asset Tracing & Recovery.

We can apply for a range of injunctive relief including freezing orders, disclosure orders and search and seizure orders. These orders are designed to protect the value of assets and prevent any further harm being done to the company.

Civil proceedings are often only part of the package of remedies that an employer may want to consider. Employment contracts include express and implied duties of behaviour and we can advise on breaches of contract and, if a director or other senior executive is potentially implicated, breaches of fiduciary duties which may give rise to claims for profits, compensation and damages.

We can guide clients on reporting matters to the relevant authorities and have worked together with the authorities representing the interests of the victim and ensuring the investigation and evidence gathering process is as streamlined and effective as possible. Should clients want to bring criminal proceedings themselves, we can advise on the viability of a Private Prosecution and bring a Private Prosecution on their behalf where appropriate. We help manage the impact of any parallel proceedings arising from professional breaches, regulatory investigations or criminal proceedings.

Peters & Peters also regularly acts for individuals accused of employee fraud. This may involve resisting or varying injunctive relief against them; negotiating confidential settlement agreements with the employer or liaising on the employee’s behalf with regulators or prosecuting bodies to minimise any future exposure or liability which may arise.

  • We acted for a foreign based company in a fraud and asset tracing claim against its former director an offshore company under his control. The claim relates to the alleged misappropriation of several million US dollars and involves the tracing of monies through Cyprus, Russia and Switzerland.
  • A worldwide freezing injunction and disclosure order were obtained against the former director, along with a freezing order in Switzerland.
  • Peters & Peters represented a managing director of a global security company, who pleaded guilty to fraud on her former employer. An early guilty plea and detailed representations on mitigating factors resulted in the imposition of a suspended sentence of imprisonment. A confidential settlement was negotiated with the company in order to avoid any freezing injunctions or civil proceedings and the associated publicity.
  • We were instructed by a FTSE 100 company to conduct an internal investigation. We assisted in determining the scope of the investigation and the data lockdown, and conducted the collection, review and analysis of data and interviewed employees.