Ben Davies
Partner

A partner in the civil litigation team, Ben focuses on high value, complex fraud claims in the Commercial Court, which often involve ancillary proceedings in other jurisdictions. He has particular experience in the obtaining, policing and discharging of freezing orders.

Measured, balanced and fair, Ben is ranked as a leading civil fraud lawyer in the current edition of the Chambers and Partners Guide to the UK Legal Profession. He is a solicitor-advocate and holds rights of audience in both the civil and criminal higher courts.

The Directories Say

Chambers and Partners

• In the 2021 edition, Ben is ranked as a 'leading civil fraud lawyer' - and is described as 'adept at acting on a range of complex civil fraud claims' and 'very good, clever and bright'.

Legal 500

• The current edition notes that Ben has 'particular expertise in obtaining and discharging freezing orders, in addition to a strong track record in extradition matters'.

Who's Who Legal

• Ben is recommended as a 'leading asset recovery specialist' by Who's Who Legal.

Notable Experience

• Acting for the Republic of Cuba and the Banco Nacional de Cuba, in their defence of a €70 million sovereign debt claim brought in the Commercial Court (ongoing action).
• Acting for a group of defendants to the £1.5 billion tax fraud claim brought by Skat (the Danish tax revenue) against Solo Capital and others in the Commercial Court (ongoing action).
• Defending a former director and major shareholder of a Russian bank against claims for fraud and breach of duty worth in excess of €1 billion brought in the Commercial Court, and advising in relation to ancillary proceedings in Switzerland and Cyprus.
• Settling a US$30 million Commercial Court fraud dispute for investors in a collapsed oil and gas joint venture; advising in relation to related criminal proceedings in Germany and Luxembourg, as well as mutual legal assistance requests between EU states.
• Acting for businessman and chairman of the Djibouti Free Zone Abdourahman Boreh, in his successful discharge of a freezing order and defence of Commercial Court proceedings brought by the Republic of Djibouti, worth in excess of US$130 million.
• Acting for a high-profile Russian banker, in his successful defence of an attempt to extradite him to the Russian Federation.

Background

After graduating from Kings College London in 1998, Ben worked in public relations for BP plc. He went on to complete the PGDL and the LPC at the University of East Anglia and College of Law respectively, before training as a solicitor with a City law firm. Ben joined Byrne and Partners in 2004 and was made Partner in 2014.

Contact Ben