Pre-Charge Solicitors for Fraud Investigations
A fraud investigation rarely starts with an arrest. Unlike a street crime, you might not be contacted immediately. Instead, you might receive a letter from HMRC, a request for information from a regulator, or a polite phone call from a detective asking you to come in for a "chat". You may also unexpectedly find a frozen bank account.
Because it starts quietly, many people make a critical mistake: they assume it isn't serious and that if they simply explain themselves, the misunderstanding will soon be cleared up.
In the world of financial crime, this is a dangerous assumption. Fraud investigations are complex and long-running and can be destructive to both your business and reputation long before a case ever reaches a courtroom. The police and regulators spend months, sometimes years, building a case against you in secret. By the time they contact you, they are often ready to strike.
You need to be ready too. At Holborn Adams, we believe the battle is won or lost before you are charged. This is why instructing a specialist pre-charge fraud solicitor in the UK is the most important investment you can make.
Understanding Pre-Charge Fraud Solicitor in the UK
The pre-charge stage is the period between the authorities suspecting you of a crime and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) formally charging you. In fraud cases, this window can be incredibly long, often spanning 12 to 24 months.
Most generalist lawyers will tell you to simply wait and see. They will sit back, let the police conduct their investigation, and only start working once the charge sheet is printed. We fundamentally disagree with this approach.
Waiting is passive. It allows the police to construct a one-sided narrative that makes you look guilty. A pre-charge solicitor’s job is to intervene during the investigation. We inject ourselves into the process, challenge the police's assumptions, scrutinise the documents they are seizing, and ensure they see the evidence that proves your innocence, not just the evidence that suggests your guilt.
Fraud cases are unique because they almost always turn on intent. Moving money, signing a contract, or filing a tax return are not crimes in themselves. The crime is doing so dishonestly. Proving honesty is complex, and it requires a legal team that understands forensic accounting, digital data, and corporate structures.
The Myth of the "Voluntary" Interview
One of the most common tactics in fraud investigations is the "Voluntary Interview Under Caution", also known as a PACE interview.
The police will often downplay this. They might say something along the lines of ‘we just want to get your side of the story,’ or ‘you aren't under arrest; you can leave at any time.’ Do not be fooled by the casual nature of the request.
A voluntary interview has the same legal weight as an interrogation in a custody cell. The interview is recorded and anything you say can be used as evidence against you in court. If you make a mistake, forget a date, or get confused by a complex financial question, that error will be treated as a lie.
We prepare our clients for these interviews with the same rigour we would for a trial. We review the disclosure, which is the evidence the police are willing to show us, beforehand and advise you on whether to answer questions, submit a prepared written statement, or exercise your right to remain silent. We will attend the interview with you, ensure the questioning is fair, and intervene if the investigator tries to trip you up.
Proactive Evidence Gathering: Beating Them to the Punch
In a fraud investigation, the police will seize everything. They will take phones, laptops, hard drives, and boxes of files in the hunt for a ‘smoking gun’.
However, police resources are stretched. They often only look for what they want to find. They might find an email that looks suspicious but miss the three emails from the previous week that provide the context and explain why that action was legitimate.
At Holborn Adams, we don't rely on the police to do our homework. We conduct our own parallel investigation.
- Digital Forensics: We work with top-tier experts who can clone your devices and analyse the data. We look for the messages, GPS data, and metadata that corroborate your version of events.
- The Paper Trail: Fraud cases live and die by paperwork. We analyse ledgers, bank statements and contracts to build a timeline that supports your defence.
- Witness Tracing: Is there a former employee or a business partner who can verify your account? We find them and take statements from them before their memories fade or the police get to them.
Targeted Representations: Stopping the Machine
This is the core of our pre-charge strategy. Once the police have finished their investigation, they send a file to the CPS. The CPS then decides whether to charge you.
We aim to stop the file from ever leaving the police station, or if it does, persuade the CPS to drop it immediately. We do this by submitting what is known as Written Representations. These are detailed legal documents drafted by our expert pre-charge fraud solicitor in the UK that may argue:
- Evidential Weakness: We point out where the police evidence is flawed, contradictory, or even insufficient to secure a conviction.
- Public Interest: Even if there is evidence, is it in the public interest to prosecute? In complex fraud cases, the cost of a trial is astronomical. If we can show that the alleged loss is low or that you have already made restitution, we can argue that a trial is a waste of public money.
- Abuse of Process: Has the investigation been conducted unfairly? Have your rights been breached? We highlight these failures aggressively.
Our goal is to secure a "No Further Action" (NFA) decision. This means the case is dropped, your DNA and fingerprints are destroyed, and you can get on with your life without a stain on your character.
Managing Risk and Reputation
For our clients, a fraud allegation is often about more than just the law; it is about livelihood.
If you are a director, doctor, banker, or business owner, the mere rumour of a fraud investigation can be catastrophic. Banks may withdraw facilities, professional bodies may suspend your licence, and investors may pull out.
We understand this ecosystem. We work discreetly and advise you on how to handle:
- Account Freezing Orders (AFOs): It is common in fraud cases for police to freeze your bank accounts while they investigate. We challenge these orders immediately to ensure you have access to funds to pay your mortgage, staff, and legal fees.
- Media Enquiries: If the press gets wind of the investigation, we manage the narrative to limit reputational damage.
- Employer Disclosure: We advise you on exactly what you do (and do not) need to tell your employer or professional regulator at this stage.
If a Charge Is Still Brought
We must be realistic: sometimes, despite the best efforts, the CPS decides to charge. Political pressure or the sheer scale of the alleged fraud can make them determined to go to court.
However, the work we do at the pre-charge stage is never wasted. By engaging early, we enter the court process with a massive advantage:
- The Record is Set: Because we managed your interview, you haven't said anything that hurts your case.
- The Theory is Built: We already have our experts lined up and our defence strategy mapped out. We hit the ground running while the prosecution are still organising their files.
- Disclosure is Demanded: We know what the police have, and what they are hiding, because we have been tracking the investigation for months.
Taking the First Step
The psychological toll of a fraud investigation is immense. The uncertainty can keep you awake at night for months and the feeling of being watched and having your financial life dissected, is invasive.
The antidote to this anxiety is action.
When you hire Holborn Adams, you stop being a passive subject of an investigation and you become an active participant in your own defence. We stand between you and the authorities, handling the calls and the pressure.
We have successfully guided high-net-worth individuals, CEOs, and business owners through the minefield of fraud investigations. We are a private firm, which means we are not restricted by government funding caps. We do whatever it takes to protect you.
If you suspect you are under investigation, or have already been contacted by the police or HMRC, do not wait for the situation to "resolve itself". It won't.
Contact our specialist pre-charge fraud solicitor UK team today. Let us review your case, secure your position, and fight to stop this investigation in its tracks.
