Pavlos Panayi KC
Year of call
1995
Silk
2014
Instructing Pavlos Panayi KC
For more information please contact our clerks by calling +44 (0)20 7242 3555.
Specialist in business crime, bribery and corruption; financial regulatory, sanctions, extradition and international criminal law with an emphasis on providing high-level external advice to common law jurisdictions.
Acts for corporates and individuals seeking advice in the UK, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Greece and the Caribbean.
Maintains a general criminal practice including in allegations of terrorism, murder and sexual offences.
Regular speaker in the UK and internationally on issues of bribery, corruption, AML and fraud.
Current instructions
- Acting for an online gambling corporate licensee in a British Crown Dependency facing investigation by the gambling regulator surrounding its sanctions, AML and CTF compliance and controls.
- Currently instructed in civil proceedings arising from the “Golden Passports” scandal in Cyprus where several prominent politicians, lawyers and businessmen are accused in the Nicosia Assizes court of complicity in fraud and corruption. The public scandal arose following an undercover investigation by the Al Jazeera news network into the abuse and corruption of the Cyprus Investment Programme path to citizenship.
- Instructed for an IT director of several Indian and U.K. technology companies, the main defendant in a £20m bribery and fraud prosecution following an 8 year joint investigation by HMRC and the City of London police.
- Instructed to appear for the main defendant in a prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority for Insider Trading arising out of unusual share and spread betting prior to a major market announcement.
- Instructed for the Cypriot CFO of a global business in liquidation, alleged to have committed civil fraud and a series of breaches of fiduciary duty.
Recent instructions
- Acted for dual Israeli and Cyprus citizen of Russian origin, in relation to litigation in the English commercial court arising from a banking dispute in Moscow, with parallel litigation in the Russian Federation and Cyprus.
- Acting for a billionaire businessman facing restraint order arising from an AML investigation.
- Advising in relation to the international and UK aspects of an investigation arising out of the Onecoin $4b ponzi scheme.
- Acting for a Cyprus bank and its officials charged in the Nicosia criminal court with fraud, market-manipulation and forgery allegations in three linked trials arising out of the collapse of the Cyprus banking system in 2012-2013.
- Acting for a Guernsey fund management business in enforcement action brought by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
- Directing an internal investigation for a major international financial institution into a series of linked frauds of approx. €300m.
- Acting for five directors of a leading UK business facing prosecution for conspiracy to cheat following a long-running HMRC investigation
- Acting for principle partner at a London based law firm alleged to have committed a £6m fraud on the Legal Aid fund.
- Acting for two British company directors of an AIM listed communications company and its Greek subsidiary facing prosecution in Athens for alleged fraud on thousands of consumers.
- Advised in several extradition request cases.
Feedback
“An excellent advocate who is particularly good on cross-border matters,” Chambers & Partners 2023 – General Crime
“Pavlos is excellent at getting to the issues and heading cases off before trial where possible,” Legal 500 2023 – General Crime
‘Pavlos is meticulous in his preparation of cases, exceptional with clients, and an excellent advocate.’ Legal 500 2022 – General Crime
‘His advice is precise and to the point given a certain answer to all questions.’ Legal 500 2022 – Offshore
‘Pavlos is a robust and authoritative presence in court. He deals with legal submissions with confidence and persistence. He leads a team with dedication and good humour. His speeches are cogent and well constructed; charming manner which he puts to good effect with Judges and clients alike. Has the ability to find an arguable point amongst a haystack of nonsense and argue it successfully. Hard working, smart, diligent.’ Legal 500 2021 – General Crime
‘He is able to see through difficult facts and come to a simple solution to best achieve the client’s goals.’ Legal 500 2021 – Fraud
‘He is robust, dedicated, and determined.’ Legal 500 2021 – Offshore
“A very solid barrister whose client care is second to none.” – Chambers UK Bar 2021
Public Access
Pavlos is qualified to accept instructions directly from clients and is registered under the Bar Council’s Public Access Scheme, meaning that members of the public who seek specialist advice can come directly to him. In addition, he welcomes instructions from solicitors, in-house law departments, qualified foreign lawyers, and clients licensed by the Bar Council to give instructions directly to barristers under the Bar Council’s Licensed Access Scheme. For more information please visit our Direct Access page here.
Legal Expertise
Business Crime
Business Crime
Current instructions:
- Instructed for an IT director of several Indian and U.K. technology companies, the main defendant in a £20m bribery and fraud prosecution following an 8 year joint investigation by HMRC and the City of London police.
- Instructed to appear for the main defendant in a prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority for Insider Trading arising out of unusual share and spread betting prior to a major market announcement.
- Instructed for the Cypriot CFO of a global business in liquidation, alleged to have committed civil fraud and a series of breaches of fiduciary duty.
Notable Business Crime cases
2018 to 2020: Acting successfully for group finance and tax manager of the Bank of Cyprus charged with fraud, misleading shareholders and falsifying minutes of meetings of the assets and liabilities committee.
2020: Acting for two company directors of an international telecoms business facing prosecution for defrauding customers in another EU country. Case ongoing.
2019-2020: Acted for director of a gold bullion business facing £200m restraint order in the UK arising from an AML investigation. Succeeded in discharging restraint order.
2019: Advised Jersey based business facing prosecution for defrauding its client companies. Drafted the written submissions as to law of fraudulent conversion coupled with Preddy submissions succeeding in case being withdrawn from the jury. Drafted legal arguments in response to a prosecution appeal, once again succeeding in upholding the acquittal.
2019: Advised a UK law firm partner from whom the FBI sought assistance with its investigation into the Onecoin $4b Ponzi scheme and associated money laundering.
2018-2019: Acted for five directors of a leading UK printing business facing prosecution for conspiracy to cheat following a long-running HMRC investigation. Advised pre-trial and negotiated with prosecution as to acceptable pleas. When separate representation was deemed appropriate, appeared for one of the five directors avoiding custody in his case.
2017: Acted for principle partner at a law firm alleged to have committed a £6m fraud on the Legal Aid fund; Succeeded in striking prosecution out during interlocutory proceedings in the Court of Appeal.
2017: Acted for company director of UK and Spanish incorporated businesses alleged to have mis-sold to hundreds of thousands of customers using boiler rooms here and in Tenerife. Client acquitted.
International and extradition
International and extradition
Notable International and extradition cases
2020: Advised Cyprus/Israeli based Russian businessman facing requests that he provide evidence in linked civil fraud proceedings running in parallel in the High Court in London and at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Cases arose from a 2017 banking dispute in the Russian Federation. Claims had been issued and were at varying states of completion in the Republic of Cyprus, Russia and London.
2019- 2020: Acting for two UK company directors of an AIM listed communications company and its Greek subsidiary facing prosecution in Athens for alleged fraud on thousands of consumers.
2018-2020: Acted for one of 5 defendants prosecuted in the Nicosia Criminal Court during three sequential linked trials alleging fraud, market-manipulation and forgery in a case of national importance in Cyprus arising out of the collapse of the Cyprus banking system in 2012-2013. Succeeded in each case resulting in acquittal of client.
2019: Advised UK law firm partner in relation to LPP and risks of prosecution and extradition in response to a request for assistance from a foreign law enforcement investigation into a worldwide fraud.
2018: Appeared for a Guernsey fund management business and its managing director who faced enforcement action brought by the Guernsey FSC for a catalogue of serious breaches of the Guernsey Protection of Investors Law.
2016-2017: Led the audit team of a major international financial institution in an internal investigation into a series of linked frauds of aprox. €300m.
2018: Advised an individual facing extradition to the Greek island of Naxos for manslaughter, resulting in charges being dropped at the local island court.
2017: Advised a Cyprus national on risks of extradition to UK on charges of attempted murder.
2016: Advised a Turkish company director on issues of mutual assistance and provided expert evidence for the Istanbul criminal court as to the interpretation of English criminal law and procedure, resulting in charges being dropped at the local court.
2016: Advised a Polish national on merits of an appeal to the UK Supreme Court of a refusal by the High Court to quash extradition to Poland under an EWA.
Crime
Crime
Notable Crime cases
2020: Instructed for the prosecution in murder trial where deceased was beaten to death and stabbed multiple times.
2020: Appeared for the defence in one of the first murder trials in a Covid-compliant court. Five weeks trial.
2020: Appeared for the prosecution in relation to the stabbing by a 15 year old another 15 year old.
2019: Appeared for the prosecution in a murder trial where a workman at a building site was stabbed to death by his colleague.
2019: Appeared for the defence in a four defendant murder trial arising from turf-warfare between county-lines and local Oxford based drug dealers.
2019: Appeared for defence in a two defendant murder trial at the Old Bailey, where four young men on mopeds committed the murder of a rival gang-member using several machetes.
Instructing Pavlos Panayi KC
For more information please contact our clerks by calling +44 (0)20 7242 3555.
For help or advice please call +44 (0)20 7242 3555 or complete the form below
A member of the Clerking team will help you resolve your request.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an out of hours number?
Yes, please call Chambers mainline number +44 (0)20 7242 3555 and you will be directed to the out of hours phone lines.
How can I find out whether 7BR can take my case?
As a direct access client, please visit our direct access page and complete the initial form, a member of the clerking team will then be in touch to discuss the next steps.
Will my barrister deal with all the correspondence?
Some barristers have the ability to “conduct litigation” for direct access clients. Our clerks will be able to assist you as to which of our members are trained and accredited to do so.
How do I instruct a barrister?
Please visit our direct access page for the initial steps on instructing a barrister, or contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7242 3555.
