Partner
Ross Dixon is a highly experienced and expert criminal litigator across the full range of business crime.
Committed, personable, and highly skilled, Ross takes a strategic approach to all his cases; he has achieved significant success in some of the UK’s most high profile white-collar crime matters.
Ross often represents business people – usually directors or senior executives – who require legal representation when the companies they work for are under investigation. He has acted in some of the UK’s most serious and complex fraud, false accounting and bribery and corruption cases. His financial crime practice includes tax investigations and concurrent regulatory investigations by professional bodies such as the SRA and the FRC.
Ross advises companies on crime-related legal issues including dawn raids, production and restraint orders, the execution of warrants, and the regulatory and strategic obligations arising from the discovery of potential wrongdoing within a company.
He has considerable experience of cases that involve parallel investigations in the UK and overseas, including the US, Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East and often works closely with lawyers based in other jurisdictions. His experience includes advice and representation for those facing requests for mutual legal assistance or extradition.
Ross also has great experience representing professionals, business people and their families caught up in general and serious crime cases, whether in police investigations or before the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts.
Ross is the Chair of Partners at Hickman & Rose. He joined the firm in 1995 and became a partner in 1998. He is an officer of the International Bar Association Crime Committee, a member of The Fraud Lawyers Association committee, and has served on the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force since 2012.
Ross has extensive experience and expertise in business crime cases. He has acted in some of the UK’s most significant fraud, false accounting and bribery and corruption cases.
He is recognised as a highly skilled lawyer, with great judgement and is wholly committed to his clients. His approach has resulted in significant success in landmark cases.
Ross often represents senior individuals under suspicion in many of the SFO’s high profile matters, such as the recent investigations into Unaoil, Petrofac, Amec Foster Wheeler, Chemring Group, G4S and FH Bertling, as well as witnesses and potential witnesses in many of the SFO’s other investigations.
Ross acted for Chris Bush, former MD of Tesco UK Ltd, in his acquittal on charges of fraud and false accounting in 2018, arising from an alleged £250million overstatement of profit. The trial followed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement between the company and the SFO, and the outcome raised serious questions about the SFO’s approach to individuals in DPAs.
He has considerable experience of cases that involve parallel investigations in the UK and overseas, including the US, Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia and often works closely alongside lawyers based in other jurisdictions. His experience includes advice and representation for those facing requests for mutual legal assistance or extradition.
Ross has great expertise on the law governing the proceeds of crime, money laundering and the seizure and confiscation of assets, especially as it relates to complex financial investigations.
He gives specialist advice to those having to navigate the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, He has served on the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force since 2012 and is a regular speaking on these issues.
Ross is often instructed to advise on money laundering matters, including by law firms and fellow professionals having to grapple with the complexities that arise in these cases. He is also well versed in the issues involved in resisting Unexplained Wealth Orders and Account Freezing Orders.
As co-head of the firm’s financial crime department Ross Dixon regularly represents individuals facing parallel criminal and regulatory investigations. He has long experience acting in matters before professional regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Reporting Council and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Personable and highly strategic, Ross excels at managing the often complex interplay between criminal and regulatory matters.
Ross currently acts for a former senior executive of Autonomy plc who has an ongoing case before the FRC as well as associated criminal proceedings arising out of the high profile fallout from the sale of the company to a US corporation.
Ross is highly adept at representing those caught up in criminal investigations in more than one jurisdiction. He is familiar with the issues that arise in these matters and is well versed at working with lawyers based in other countries and developing strategies and solutions to achieve the best outcome for clients.
His significant experience includes cases involving US law enforcement and financial regulators – in particular the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission – as well as in numerous European countries, the Middle East and in South East Asia.
His experience includes advice and representation for those facing requests for mutual legal assistance or extradition.
Ross’ recent clients in this area include the UK-based former CFO of BT Global Services being prosecuted in Italy on allegations of fraud relating to an alleged €600m overstatement of profit; a former senior executive of Autonomy caught up in civil, regulatory and criminal proceedings in the UK and US; and a senior airline executive under investigation in the UK and South East Asia in a very high profile bribery and corruption investigation.
Ross Dixon’s private client work focuses on providing high profile individuals and professionals – as well as their families – with specialist advice and representation in police investigations and proceedings before the criminal courts.
Ross understands the severe reputational impact an even unproven criminal allegation can have and is expert in devising the legal strategies which take this into account. He has achieved significant success in heading off investigations before any charges are brought.
As well as numerous White Collar clients, Ross played an important role in representing the firm’s clients in the investigation and criminal proceedings that followed the death of Hans Kristian Rausing’s wife; as well as in the firm’s representation of singer celebrity Tulisa Contostavlos and artist David Hockney.
4 Jul 2022
For accountants, the prospect of being investigated for misconduct by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRC) can be extremely daunting.
FRC investigations demand attention and resources. They can…
4 Jan 2022
Corporate and White Collar crime partner Ross Dixon has contributed to a Bloomberg article analysing the SFO’s record of success – and failure – in recent fraud and bribery matters.
Published soon…
4 Nov 2021
Hickman & Rose has been recognised again by The Times newspaper as one of the country’s leading firms working in financial crime, fraud, regulatory, human rights, administrative and public law….
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