• Member of International Committee of Bar Council of England and Wales, leading on Cyprus.
  • Co-founder and president of the Cypriot Lawyers Society which has an international membership of Cypriot lawyers and other professionals with an interest in and connection to Cyprus.
  • Goodwill Ambassador for the UK Cyprus Enterprise Council.
  • Fraud Lawyers Association member
  • Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association member
  • Criminal Bar Association member
  • Former elected member of Bar Council and former committee member of Criminal Bar Association
  • Joint Head of Offshore and Financial Crime at 7BR
  • Joint Head of Recruitment at 7BR

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

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

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

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.


  • Member of International Committee of Bar Council of England and Wales, leading on Cyprus.
  • Co-founder and president of the Cypriot Lawyers Society which has an international membership of Cypriot lawyers and other professionals with an interest in and connection to Cyprus.
  • Goodwill Ambassador for the UK Cyprus Enterprise Council.
  • Fraud Lawyers Association member
  • Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association member
  • Criminal Bar Association member
  • Former elected member of Bar Council and former committee member of Criminal Bar Association
  • Joint Head of Offshore and Financial Crime at 7BR
  • Joint Head of Recruitment at 7BR

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 
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Frequently asked questions

Yes, please call Chambers mainline number +44 (0)20 7242 3555 and you will be directed to the out of hours phone lines.

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.

Choosing the right barrister for your case can be difficult, with so many to choose from. Our clerks will be happy to guide you with your choice. Their wealth of knowledge and experience will help you decide the right barrister not just for the case but someone who will work with you.

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.

Please visit our direct access page for the initial steps on instructing a barrister, or contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7242 3555.

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