Ross Dixon

Practice Areas

Ross Dixon is a hugely experienced criminal litigator who specialises in representing those caught up in serious financial, white-collar crime and regulatory investigations.

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 and regulatory matters.

Ross represents business people and HNWs – often directors, senior executives and founders – who require legal representation when their companies 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 regulatory investigations by professional bodies such as the FCA, the SRA and the FRC.

He has considerable experience of cases that involve parallel investigations in the UK and overseas, including the US, Europe, Southeast 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.

Alongside his financial crime and regulatory work, Ross has great experience representing HNWs, professionals, businesspeople and their families caught up in general and serious crime cases, whether in police investigations or before the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts.

Ross has been involved in many of the SFO’s significant and complex investigations. Recent successes include the acquittal of the former MD of Tesco UK Ltd, on charges of fraud and false accounting, arising from an alleged £250million overstatement of profit.

He represented the former CEO of G4S UK & Ireland acquitted earlier this year in a major SFO prosecution concerning allegations of fraud arising from a significant government outsourcing contract. After an investigation lasting ten years and having agreed a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the company, the SFO eventually offered no evidence following an abuse of process application by Hickman & Rose.

Ross has advised senior individuals under investigation in many other of the SFO’s recent investigations including Rolls-Royce, Amec Foster Wheeler, Petrofac, Chemring and Airbus.

In addition to fraud and bribery and corruption matters, Ross has great expertise in 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 and has served on the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force since 2012.

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 well versed in the issues involved in resisting Unexplained Wealth Orders, Account Freezing Orders and Account Forfeiture Orders.

In his regulatory practice, Ross has expertise and substantial experience advising senior finance executives under investigation by the FRC where allegations of accounting impropriety have arisen. He is regularly instructed by individuals scrutinised by the FCA on market abuse and insider dealing allegations, and his clients include law firm partners facing investigation by the SRA.

As co-head of Hickman & Rose’ financial crime department Ross Dixon regularly represents individuals facing parallel criminal and regulatory investigations. For example, he currently acts for a former senior executive of Autonomy plc with 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 has long experience acting for professional people, HNWs and those with a public profile caught up in police investigations and criminal prosecution. He understands the severe reputational impact even an unproven criminal allegation can have and often works alongside experts in protecting reputation, to minimise these risks. He has achieved significant success in heading off investigations before any charges are brought.

He has 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.

Career

Qualified 1991. Joined Hickman and Rose in 1995. Partner since 1998. Currently Chair of Partners.

Professional Memberships

Officer of the International Bar Association Crime Committee. Member of The Fraud Lawyers Association committee. Member of the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force.