Michael Potts

Practice Areas

In the last 26 years, Michael has acted in numerous high-profile investigations and prosecutions brought against individuals by all the key prosecution and regulatory agencies (including the SFO, FCA, HMRC, NCA and OFSI). Recent highlights include the SFO’s Airbus and Petrofac investigations, the NCA’s criminal investigation of the alleged £1 billion Danish dividend fraud (cum ex), a Jersey AG criminal investigation of alleged sanctions breaches and money laundering by professionals based in Jersey and in London.

Michael has also been extensively involved in advising clients facing financial and trade sanctions imposed by the European Union, United Kingdom, United States and Australia. Michael’s most recent experience includes representing HNW individuals that are the subject of sanctions imposed by OFAC, OFSI and the Minister for External Relations and Financial Services (Jersey), including challenging the ‘designated’ status of a number of high profile Russian Oligarchs, advising a Russian Multinational on the impact of EU and UK Sanctions on Russia on proposed transactions and various Russian companies in a range of industry sectors on potential exposure arising from the evolving EU, US and UK sanctions regime.

Michael also regularly advises senior management in financial services who face criminal/disciplinary enquiries from the FCA/PRA and other regulatory agencies. He advises both companies and professional firms on their anti-money laundering compliance being a former member for over 10 years of the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force Committee.

Career

Michael graduated from Lincoln College, Oxford University in 1993 and qualified at Dechert LLP in 1997. He was a founding partner of Byrne and Partners LLP in 2003 and in 2012 was made Managing Partner and then later Senior Partner. Byrne and Partners LLP merged with PCB Litigation LLP in April 2021 and Michael remained as a partner in that firm.

Professional Memberships

Michael is a member of the Fraud Lawyers Association and International Bar Association. He was a committee member of the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force for ten years. He also sits on Lexis Nexis's corporate crime consulting editorial board.