R v S
Prosecuted a defendant who pretended to be an immigration solicitor and received fees without qualification to do so.
Kiera Oluwunmi has a broad practice across Chambers’ main areas of expertise, with a particular interest in crime and quasi-criminal matters.
Kiera has experience representing Judicial Authorities and Requested Persons from initial hearings through to full extradition hearings and on appeal. Kiera regularly appears at both Westminster and the High Court and is involved in a number of substantive appeals involving complex Section 20 arguments in light of Bertino and Merticariu. Kiera completed a secondment at the CPS Extradition Unit in February 2024. Kiera accepts instructions in Part 1 and Part 2 cases.
Kiera regularly appears in the criminal courts. She has both prosecuted and defended in cases involving a range of offences including assault, battery, theft, possession of offensive weapons, public disorder offences, motoring offences and drugs offences.
Kiera recently appeared in the Court of Appeal, where the ABH conviction was quashed, and no retrial sought after material non-disclosure of the complainant’s bad character from the Crown.
Kiera has experience dealing with vulnerable defendants and witnesses. She has made representations on fitness to plead and stand trial which have led to proceedings being discontinued where the defendants had complex mental health conditions.
Kiera has gained additional experience with disclosure exercises in the context of private prosecutions.
Prosecuted a defendant who pretended to be an immigration solicitor and received fees without qualification to do so.
Represented a defendant acquitted of murder alongside two co-defendants.
Represented a defendant initially charged with aggravated burglary and being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs.
Kiera appears in and advises on matters across the spectrum of financial crime and POCA, for both the defence and prosecution, including in forfeiture and restraint proceedings.
Kiera recently acted for parents whose savings were at risk of being forfeited due to their son’s alleged criminal activity. Following a full forfeiture hearing and analysis of bank transactions over many years, the court was not satisfied that the money in their account was recoverable property and the AFO was lifted.
Kiera has also acted in civil contempt of court proceedings arising from the breach of a Restraint Order.
Kiera has assisted in advisory work for the National Crime Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority on complex Fraud Act 2006 offences.
Kiera has appeared for Transport for London in licensing appeals and prosecutions in the magistrates’ court and at the Old Bailey.
Kiera has dealt with complex issues of data analysis and obtaining evidence from experts based in the US on the reliability of data collected by ride-hailing apps. The application to adduce evidence via live link was granted. As a result, the appeal against TfL’s decision was dismissed.
Kiera has appeared for the Metropolitan Police Service in licensing matters, including an application to revoke a Premises Licence following the serious sexual assault of child made vulnerable through alcohol on the premises.
Health and Care Professions Council
Kiera has acted as the Presenting Officer for the HCPC in a case where the Registrant was accused of undermining government guidance and lockdown rules through her use of Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Kiera has acted for the NMC in a case involving fraudulent entry into the Register, where the Registrant forged the signatures of colleagues and used her supervisor’s PIN number without her permission on her Revalidation forms. Following careful cross-examination, the panel made a finding of deliberate and premeditated dishonesty.
Teachers Regulation Authority
Kiera has presented cases for the TRA, including proceeding in absence when a primary school teacher had been convicted of possession of extreme pornographic images.
Kiera is currently on secondment to the CPS Extradition Unit, returning to Chambers in December 2023. Kiera will represent various Judicial Authorities at extradition hearings, and act as reviewing lawyer for a substantial caseload of Part 1 cases.
Kiera was involved in Post Office inquiry working on a range of time sensitive matters between March 2022 – 2023, including document review and narrative drafting.
Kiera is frequently instructed by the Metropolitan Police Service both to advise on and appear in applications for civil preventative orders, including:
These applications often involve complex and serious allegations and legal submissions on necessity and proportionality.
Kiera has also appeared on behalf of the National Probation Service in breach proceedings in the Crown and Magistrates’ Courts.
R v S (2023) (Warwick Crown Court)
Prosecution counsel in a case where the defendant represented herself as an immigration solicitor despite not being registered with the SRA or having OISC authorisation to provide immigration advice. One victim paid over £2000 in “fees” for unregulated advice. Following trial, the defendant was convicted of fraud by false representation (Section 2, Fraud Act 2006) and providing immigration advice when not qualified to do so (Section 84 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999).
R v MM (2022) (Harrow Crown Court)
The defendant was sentenced to 15- and 12-months imprisonment (concurrent) for offences of burglary and being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs respectively, alongside three co-defendants. Initially charged as aggravated burglary, following discussions with the Crown a plea was accepted to the Section 9 offence and a basis of plea was accepted in relation to being concerned. As a result of submissions on the defendant’s age and vulnerability, a further 20% reduction in sentence was applied.
R v TB (2022) (Central Criminal Court)
Represented a defendant charged with murder alongside two co-defendants. All defendants denied participation in a joint enterprise. Following a four-week trial at the Old Bailey, the Defendant was acquitted of all charges. (Led).
R v Head (2022) (Court of Appeal)
Conviction overturned on appeal to Court of Appeal on basis of fresh evidence prosecution failed to disclose, establishing it is a ‘short step’ from concluding that non-defendant bad character fresh evidence would have been admissible under s100(1)(b) CJA 2003 to satisfying the test for appeal against conviction. Reported here
Scholarships / Prizes
During pupillage, Kiera assisted in drafting submissions for an inquest on the effect of the decision in R (Morahan) v HM Coroner for West London [2021] EWHC 1603 and when an enhanced investigative duty under Article 2 ECHR arises automatically, where the deceased had a known history of drug abuse and was an involuntary psychiatric patient.
Kiera also produced a research note on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the landscape of post-Brexit Mutual Legal Assistance, particularly in relation to EIOs, EAWs and the Schengen Information System.
Before coming to the Bar, Kiera was a Parliamentary Assistant for a member of the House of Lords. During this time, she helped to set up a think tank on immigration reform, submitted questions on the rise in hate crime against East Asians as a result of Covid, and the availability of British passports for Hong Kong citizens. Kiera has also completed numerous international internships, including at a national labour union in Washington D.C and a legal aid centre for asylum-seekers in Sofia, Bulgaria where she developed ‘Know Your Rights’ guides to immigration procedures and US labour law.
Kiera also volunteers with her local church, in particular with the homeless community and vulnerable women. Kiera has participated in numerous leadership programmes with a focus on cross-community relations in Northern Ireland, including the Washington Ireland Programme and the Ulster Project. Whilst at university, Kiera taught debating skills to schoolchildren from Protestant and Catholic communities in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
I, Kiera Oluwunmi, am a data controller and can be contacted at 3 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5BH or by telephone on 020 7400 6400 or by email at kiera.oluwunmi@3rblaw.com. My Data Protection Policy can be found here.
All personal data that I process is for the purposes of providing legal services, conducting conflict-checks, marketing, defending potential complaints, legal proceedings or fee disputes, keeping anti-money laundering records, training other barristers and pupils and when providing work-shadowing opportunities, and/or exercising a right to a lien. The types of data I process vary upon the nature of the legal matter in relation to which I am engaged to advise, but can include names, contact details, biographic details and ‘special category personal data’ (such as details of racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, health, sex life and criminal convictions and proceedings).
Depending upon the circumstances of the case, the legal bases upon which I process personal data are (i) the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract, (ii) the processing is necessary to comply with legal obligations to which I am subject, or (iii) the processing is necessary for the legitimate interests set out above, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child. When I rely on (iii) legitimate interests, my ‘Legitimate Interests Assessment’ can be found here. When I process data which has not been obtained directly from the data subject (e.g. personal data contained in evidential materials), it will have been supplied to me as part of my instructions in circumstances covered by legal professional privilege.
Depending upon the circumstances of the case, I may share the personal data with:
I retain personal data for no longer than 7 years after the case has come to an end or as otherwise required by law.
I do not intend to transfer data to any country which is not either within the European Union, or otherwise permitted by UK data protection legislation.
Under the UK GDPR, data subjects whose personal data I process have the right to request from me access to, and rectification or erasure of, their personal data, the right to the restriction of processing concerning them, the right to object to processing as well as the right to data portability. Data subjects also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).
In cases where there is a contract between me and the data subject, the provision of personal data is a contractual requirement and the data subject is obliged to provide the personal data in order that I can supply legal services. A failure to provide such data may mean that I will not be able to provide those legal services.
Rev 2.1 – 01.03.2022
| Address | 3 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5BH |
|---|---|
| DX | 237 LDE |
| Opening hours | 08:30 – 18:30 |
| Telephone | +44 (0)20 7400 6400 |
|---|---|
| clerks@3rblaw.com | |
| Senior clerk | Kiera Oluwunmi |
