Dr. Anna Bradshaw (née Odby)
Anna advises individuals and corporates on all aspects of financial crime and sanctions risk, compliance and enforcement.
She is ranked by Chambers UK 2026 as Band 1 for Sanctions as a “financial crime and sanctions expert” and Band 2 for POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture, as having “an excellent reputation in the POCA space” and being “a well-known expert in anti-money laundering”.
Anna is described by Legal 500 2025 as "outstanding" and "highly skilled at running complex cases", including those that involve financial crime or that overlap with sanctions violations. She is praised for her ability to traverse sanctions and export controls, combined with her expertise in financial crime and experience on cross-border matters.
She is ranked as a ‘Global Elite Thought Leaders’ by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal) for her work on Trade & Customs – International Sanctions, a ranking she has maintained since the inception of this category. She is also recommended for her work in Business Crime Defence, and Investigations.
Anna is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), assisting the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS) with its research on US, EU and UK sanctions. She serves on the Advisory Committee to the European Law Institute (ELI) project on ELI Guiding Principles of Seizing Sanctioned assets, and as a member of the Legal Services Board’s Professional Ethics and Rule of Law (PERL) Reference Group. She is a founder of the Sanctions Practitioners Group (SPG).
Anna co-edits The Guide to Sanctions, published by the Global Investigations Review (currently in its sixth edition) and co-writes the chapter on 'Impact of UK sanctions on the provision of legal services' with Alistair Jones. Other recent publications on financial crime and sanctions topics include:
- ‘Testing times: Does UK Litasco ruling clarify ‘control’ meaning?’ (The Journal of Export Controls and Sanctions, Issue 125, January 2024)
- ‘Learning the lessons from UK de-listings’ (The Journal of Export Controls and Sanctions, Issue 123, October 2023)
- ‘Financial sanctions as a weapon for combatting grand corruption’ (Routledge, 2020)
- ‘The prospect of expanded EU blocking legislation: a solution or a problem? (The Journal of Export Controls and Sanctions, Issue 69, May 2018)
Anna a sought-after speaker on sanctions and financial crime topics and has given evidence in Parliament on a number of EU criminal law and criminal justice cooperation matters in her former capacity as a member of the Law Society’s EU Committee.
She holds a doctorate in anti-money laundering regulation.
Anna is also admitted to the Roll of Irish Solicitors.
Case examples
Sanctions and export controls – noncontentious
Regularly instructed to provide expert evidence on sanctions law including blocking legislation in support of legal and arbitral proceedings, including in Targa Capital Limited v Westpac New Zealand Ltd [2023] NZHC 230 (New Zealand).
Advises on notifications under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Advises on and assists with the submission of financial and trade sanctions licence applications and export and import licences.
Compliance advice including the design and implementation of internal policies and procedures.
Sanctions and export controls – contentious
Represents and advises on investment treaty arbitration claims relating to sanctions.
Represents applicants in sanctions designations challenges securing removals in the UK, EU, Australia and Canada including in in Sabra v Council (Case T-249/20).
Represents a financial institution claimant in civil proceedings seeking the return of misappropriated frozen assets.
Represents interested parties in applications for the seizure of frozen assets in proceedings worldwide.
Successfully resisted UK cash and listed items forfeiture applications based on suspected sanctions breaches.
Conducts internal investigations and represents subjects of external investigations relating to suspected financial and trade sanctions and export control breaches, including compliance with reporting obligations.
Successfully secured multiple ‘no action’ outcomes in voluntary self-disclosures of sanctions and export control violations.
Financial crime including money laundering
Advises and represents entities in connection with internal and external investigations into suspected financial crime and related regulatory breaches worldwide.
Advises on the enforcement of overseas freezing orders and related mutual legal assistance requests in support of overseas financial crime investigations and prosecutions.
Multiple successful challenges to account freezing orders brought by HMRC and the NCA.
Represented individuals and entities in investigations disposed of by deferred prosecution agreements and offender assistance agreements.
Represents high-profile individuals and corporates in challenges to bank account freezes and closures.
Advises on the exercise of data subject rights under data protection law relating to criminal offence data.
Related expertise
- Account Freezing & Forfeiture & Cash Detention
- Bank Account Freezing
- Bribery & Corruption
- Business Ethics, Human Rights & Product/Service Risk
- Compliance
- Criminal Cartels
- Criminal Fraud
- Criminal Restraint & Confiscation
- Cybercrime & Data Theft
- Dawn Raids
- Employee Fraud
- Extradition
- INTERPOL Red Notices
- Internal Investigations
- Money Laundering
- Mutual Legal Assistance
- Sanctions & Export Controls
- Serious & General Crime
- Tax Prosecutions
- Unexplained Wealth Orders