EWJ August 62 2025 web - Journal - Page 16
l a person who, in purported compliance with a
requirement imposed on them: (a) provides information which they know to be false or misleading in a
material particular; or (b) recklessly provides information which is false or misleading in a material
particular, will be guilty of an offence; and
Proactive planning to mitigate the impact of a dawn
raid
In a time where Nick Ephgrave, director of the SFO,
has made clear that the SFO will use dawn raids more
often than in the past, understanding the intricacies
of such raids is essential for companies. Proactive planning and a thorough grasp of the extent of the investigative powers of agencies and authorities is not only
key to protect a company’s interests but also to
minimise the commercial disruption a raid might
otherwise cause.
l any person who intentionally obstructs the exercise
of any rights conferred by a warrant under section 176
FSMA will be guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment for up to three months or a fine.
What steps should be taken after a dawn raid?
In the aftermath of a dawn raid, if not already done so,
a response team comprised of representatives from senior management, in-house counsel and external
counsel should be formed. Copies of all documents
taken by investigators should be urgently passed to the
response team for review and in particular an assessment of whether any documents that have been taken
are legally privileged.
With offices in many of the world’s major financial
centres including London, Geneva and Zurich as well
as Paris, Milan, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, we
are ideally placed to work with you to prepare for or
assist with financial crime dawn raids as they arise,
whatever the law, language, rules, industry sector, or
subject matter of that raid may be.
Please contact Rhys Novak, Emilie Brammer or your
usual Charles Russell Speechlys LLP contact if you
would like to get in touch.
The response team should consider meeting with any
employees who dealt with investigators to prepare a
report on the raid, including all questions asked and
answers given. This will help establish the focus of the
raid and inform priorities in the document review.
Reference
1 Information on dawn raids conducted by the FCA October 2022 | FCA
It would also be wise for the company to prepare for
any follow-up inspections. An external communications strategy should also be given careful consideration. This may involve instructing third party PR
advisors to provide ongoing assistance. As an initial
step, the company should consider preparing a written statement to, if necessary, be provided to the press.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Authors
Emilie Brammer - Associate
Emilie specialises in commercial litigation, advising on
disputes for corporate clients, entrepreneurs and high
net worth individuals.
Rhys Novak - Partner
Rhys is a dispute resolution specialist.
https://www.charlesrussellspeechlys.com
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AUGUST/SEPT 2025
