Ben Close

Practice Areas

Ben’s practice comprises serious, complex criminal cases, including regulatory work. He has particular expertise in organised crime; specifically, drugs and firearms cases, fraud, and homicide.

His ongoing caseload reflects those interests, comprising multiple three-figure kilo Class A drugs conspiracies, corporate manslaughter, seven-figure tax frauds and counter-terrorism work. He leads juniors in approximately half of his cases. He successfully led the prosecution of a high-profile armed robbery (BBC’s Forensics: The Real CSI, ‘Gold Heist’). Ben currently prosecutes several other high-profile cases, including a drug conspiracy spanning multiple court centres. He has expertise in cases with a cross-border dimension, including cases involving ‘swatting’, explosives and a hired killer.

He has successfully appeared in the Court of Appeal on multiple occasions where he has been complimented for his thoroughness.

Ben’s regulatory work encompasses environmental law, health and safety (including deaths), and complex trading standards cases. He prosecuted the first case involving disguised political donations, contrary to PPERA legislation.

Career

Call 2009. Ben is a Grade 4 prosecutor (a position he secured early in his career) and is on specialist Grade 4 lists for fraud, serious crime, and confiscation cases. His long-standing interest in financial crime is reflected by his appointments to the SFO’s Panel A for confiscation and Panel B for fraud. He is on the Panel B list of specialist regulatory advocates in health and safety and environmental law. He is a CPS rape panel advocate. Ben achieved his university year’s highest first-class degree in law before completing an LLM in criminal justice.