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Andrew Sackey

Partner
You never want to have an internal investigation pull up bribery red flags but, should that happen, having Andrew in your corner as an advisor and effective interface with the SFO is a huge comfort. He knows his stuff, and his knowledge of how enforcement bodies are likely to act is invaluable.
Legal Counsel - Client
About

Andrew Sackey is an investigations and compliance lawyer with almost 30 years’ experience in the justice system. He has first-hand understanding of how regulators work. This informs his strategies to help multinational clients mitigate large scale bribery, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering risks.

His diverse career spans periods with the SFO, UK & EU criminal policy divisions, and front-line law enforcement leadership roles. This provides him with a unique and compelling level of tactical insight into a wide range of compliance issues faced by corporate clients, and an ability to enhance the de-risking of potentially contentious circumstances.

In his most recent leadership role in government enforcement, Andrew established HMRC’s corporate criminal investigation function in April 2016. Until his departure in 2020, he led the 500 staff charged with the conduct of all high-priority UK tax fraud investigations. Andrew also led on HMRC’s operational response to the Panama Papers data leak and was the UK’s “Responsible Officer” for the anti-facilitation of tax evasion offence.

Andrew also advises clients facing cyber security incidents, specifically deploying his crisis management skills in cyber breach and preparedness situations.

Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, 1996
Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, 1996

EXPERIENCE

  • Conducting an investigation into a procurement fraud perpetrated by bad actors within a Plc client. Reporting to law enforcement and the impacted public tender authority resulted in no action being taken against the Plc.
  • Conducting an internal bribery investigation and follow up reporting and mitigation to the SFO and UK law enforcement, in respect of a PE owned UK acquisition.
  • Conducting an internal bribery investigation and follow up reporting on behalf of a state-owned entity.
  • Conducting an internal cross border investigation into suspected facilitation of multi-jurisdictional tax evasion.
  • Advising several FTSE 100 companies in respect of their cyber breach and ransom response protocols.
  • Providing real-time crisis management advice to UK and foreign businesses in cyber breach situations.
  • Delivered an internal investigation into a multi-million-pound invoicing fraud perpetrated by an employee of a tier 1 construction contractor.
  • Delivered a cross border investigation into a multi-jurisdiction employee extraction/collusion fraud – obtaining full admissions from the bad actor as a prelude to civil recovery actions.
  • Delivering a global compliance program for a Plc subsidiary across numerous jurisdictions and 150 locations.
  • Chair of HMRC’s Anti-Facilitation of tax evasion oversight and tasking group (2017-2020).
Education

    CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

    Conduct of internal investigations:

    • "Andrew's advice to the board as our trusted advisor at a time of crisis was concise, calm, and provided a clear road map through the significant cross-border issues we faced. His subsequent communications and engagement with our auditors to provide the essential context was excellent." GC and Chief Risk Officer – Client.
    • "The fact that I've called on Andrew's investigative skills on several occasions speaks to how effective and personable he is in times of crisis." GC - Client.

    Representation at a cautioned interview:

    • "When you are the personal target of a criminal investigation, having someone like Andrew who "has your back" is essential. Andrew's deep understanding of the anatomy and strategy of tax fraud investigations is confidence inspiring. He calmly guided me through a challenging cautioned interview which, I'm very pleased to say, resulted in HMRC discontinuing their entire case against me." Exec. Director on PLC Board – Client.

    Advice and war-gaming prior to a regulatory inspection:

    • "Andrew helped us to prepare for a short notice, and potentially difficult, regulatory audit. His insights into the Regulators playbook and likely points of focus were invaluable in helping to "get in front" of potential vulnerabilities in our controls and ensuring that we had an effective real-time narrative ready to deploy." Regulated Sector CFO – Client.

    Cyber ransom prep/muscle-memory:

    • "Andrew helped design our cyber response playbook and was in the room with the board as we worked through a particularly realistic real-time breach scenario. I wasn't alone in being impressed with his ability to break down complex risks and guide us through to the "least worst" case." Global Head of Cyber Operations – Client.

    Search warrant training:

    • "Andrew's experience of leading the 500 strong corporate criminal investigation function at HMRC shone through in the search warrant training he provided to our firm. His insights (and war stories) were pragmatic, humorous, and confidence inspiring in equal measure." Partner – Client."

    Memberships and Affiliations

    • Law Society of England and Wales

    Connect

    Andrew Sackey

    Partner
    You never want to have an internal investigation pull up bribery red flags but, should that happen, having Andrew in your corner as an advisor and effective interface with the SFO is a huge comfort. He knows his stuff, and his knowledge of how enforcement bodies are likely to act is invaluable.
    Legal Counsel - Client
    About

    Andrew Sackey is an investigations and compliance lawyer with almost 30 years’ experience in the justice system. He has first-hand understanding of how regulators work. This informs his strategies to help multinational clients mitigate large scale bribery, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering risks.

    His diverse career spans periods with the SFO, UK & EU criminal policy divisions, and front-line law enforcement leadership roles. This provides him with a unique and compelling level of tactical insight into a wide range of compliance issues faced by corporate clients, and an ability to enhance the de-risking of potentially contentious circumstances.

    In his most recent leadership role in government enforcement, Andrew established HMRC’s corporate criminal investigation function in April 2016. Until his departure in 2020, he led the 500 staff charged with the conduct of all high-priority UK tax fraud investigations. Andrew also led on HMRC’s operational response to the Panama Papers data leak and was the UK’s “Responsible Officer” for the anti-facilitation of tax evasion offence.

    Andrew also advises clients facing cyber security incidents, specifically deploying his crisis management skills in cyber breach and preparedness situations.

    Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, 1996
    Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, 1996

    EXPERIENCE

    • Conducting an investigation into a procurement fraud perpetrated by bad actors within a Plc client. Reporting to law enforcement and the impacted public tender authority resulted in no action being taken against the Plc.
    • Conducting an internal bribery investigation and follow up reporting and mitigation to the SFO and UK law enforcement, in respect of a PE owned UK acquisition.
    • Conducting an internal bribery investigation and follow up reporting on behalf of a state-owned entity.
    • Conducting an internal cross border investigation into suspected facilitation of multi-jurisdictional tax evasion.
    • Advising several FTSE 100 companies in respect of their cyber breach and ransom response protocols.
    • Providing real-time crisis management advice to UK and foreign businesses in cyber breach situations.
    • Delivered an internal investigation into a multi-million-pound invoicing fraud perpetrated by an employee of a tier 1 construction contractor.
    • Delivered a cross border investigation into a multi-jurisdiction employee extraction/collusion fraud – obtaining full admissions from the bad actor as a prelude to civil recovery actions.
    • Delivering a global compliance program for a Plc subsidiary across numerous jurisdictions and 150 locations.
    • Chair of HMRC’s Anti-Facilitation of tax evasion oversight and tasking group (2017-2020).
    Education

      CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

      Conduct of internal investigations:

      • "Andrew's advice to the board as our trusted advisor at a time of crisis was concise, calm, and provided a clear road map through the significant cross-border issues we faced. His subsequent communications and engagement with our auditors to provide the essential context was excellent." GC and Chief Risk Officer – Client.
      • "The fact that I've called on Andrew's investigative skills on several occasions speaks to how effective and personable he is in times of crisis." GC - Client.

      Representation at a cautioned interview:

      • "When you are the personal target of a criminal investigation, having someone like Andrew who "has your back" is essential. Andrew's deep understanding of the anatomy and strategy of tax fraud investigations is confidence inspiring. He calmly guided me through a challenging cautioned interview which, I'm very pleased to say, resulted in HMRC discontinuing their entire case against me." Exec. Director on PLC Board – Client.

      Advice and war-gaming prior to a regulatory inspection:

      • "Andrew helped us to prepare for a short notice, and potentially difficult, regulatory audit. His insights into the Regulators playbook and likely points of focus were invaluable in helping to "get in front" of potential vulnerabilities in our controls and ensuring that we had an effective real-time narrative ready to deploy." Regulated Sector CFO – Client.

      Cyber ransom prep/muscle-memory:

      • "Andrew helped design our cyber response playbook and was in the room with the board as we worked through a particularly realistic real-time breach scenario. I wasn't alone in being impressed with his ability to break down complex risks and guide us through to the "least worst" case." Global Head of Cyber Operations – Client.

      Search warrant training:

      • "Andrew's experience of leading the 500 strong corporate criminal investigation function at HMRC shone through in the search warrant training he provided to our firm. His insights (and war stories) were pragmatic, humorous, and confidence inspiring in equal measure." Partner – Client."

      Memberships and Affiliations

      • Law Society of England and Wales

      Connect