Collapse of G4S Fraud Prosecution – SFO v Jardine, Preston and Morris

Michael Borrelli KC, leading for the first defendant, secures an acquittal as SFO case collapses.

Michael, together with his Junior Mark Aldred of QEB Hollis Whiteman, led a team of junior barristers including Duncan Jones of 25 Bedford Row, and Katherine Lloyd of QEB Hollis Whiteman, and was instructed by Joanna Dimmock, Partner at Paul Hastings, together with Solicitors Fred Kelly and Tom Hickey.

After years of investigation the SFO applied for an adjournment. In the months leading up to the trial, the defence teams had pursued the SFO to disclose information about the inadequacy of the disclosure exercise. In the face of increasing disclosure problems, Michael and Mark focused objection to the adjournment upon the conduct of the SFO. Ahead of the scheduled application to adjourn, the Jardine Team sought to expose failings in the SFO approach by arguing that the SFO’s conduct was the cause of the need to adjourn. The team lodged further arguments designed to expose misconduct by the SFO and requested a hearing to determine those arguments.  At that hearing the SFO elected not to answer the questions posed about the failings and offered no evidence against all the defendants.

Michael thanks Mark Aldred, and all the Jardine Team, for their first-class support and industry in an extremely complex case which led to Mr Jardine’s exoneration after so many years of stress. They are delighted for him.

You can read further on the case via the BBC.

14th March 2023