Profile description
Appeals
Quentin is particularly noted for his appellate work with Lord Justice Laws recently commenting on: “Mr Hunt’s first rate written submissions.”
Confiscation
Quentin specialises in asset restraint and forfeiture and Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation hearings. He recently acted as leading junior counsel for Sean Lynch, described in The Sun newspaper as ‘Million Pound Charlie’, in his confiscation proceeds where the Crown were initially pursuing the client for a confiscation order in the sum of £10,250,000 with the danger of a 10 year default period of imprisonment for a hidden assets order. Following effective representation no hidden asset order was made and the Crown only succeeded in gaining a £750,000 confiscation order.
He acts on a regular basis in actions in the High Court Chancery Division and Queens Bench Division and the Court of Appeal in actions ancillary to Proceeds of Crime Act matters including issues relating to the recovery of restrained assets and seizure and forfeiture matters.
Fraud
Quentin specialises in the representation of professional individuals and those accused of complex and large scale frauds. He has vast experience in all areas of fraud, particularly the defence of company directors in VAT frauds and allegations of fraudulent trading. He has recently acted as leading junior counsel in R v Cox a case described in the national press as the bank manager who fleeced friends” (Daily Mail). He also has acted as leading junior counsel for a company director in a protracted and serious case of fraudulent trading (R v Appuhamy and others) and in a multi million pound mortgage fraud scheme based in Ipswich (R v Ayaji Seun and others).
He has acted as junior counsel in notable cases such as a £16m Ponzi fraud scheme (R v Grahame Whitehead) where the defendant was described in the national press as the ‘Essex Bernie Madoff’ (BBC) and R v Saunders and others (Operation Shepherd) a £64m MTIC VAT fraud in which the trial involved some nine defendants and lasted 9 months. He has recently concluded the defence of a company director in a large scale HMRC VAT fraud (R v Lachani and others).
Quentin also specialises in defending cases of pharmaceutical fraud brought by the MHRA in relation to regulatory offences and general conspiracy offences. Appeared for the defence in R v Mehta and others, a multi million pound counterfeit pharmaceutical conspiracy described by The Times as ‘Britain’s largest pharmaceutical fraud.’ He successfully acted for Mr Mehta, a company director.
Quentin also acts in cases of excise fraud including the evasion of excise on goods such as tobacco and alcohol. Recently successfully as leading junior counsel in the case of R v Chen and others (smuggling of over 12 million cigarettes) and in the case of R v Minshall and others (conspiracy to set up of an illegal tobacco manufacturing plant in the UK). In 2013 Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs published a list of their 10 most serious cases of the preceding year, out of the 10 cases listed Mr Hunt had acted in 3 of them (R v Hardy, R v Minshall and R v Apostolides).
Health & Safety
Quentin is a member of the Attorney General’s ‘A List’ of approved advocates for Health and Safety and Regulatory work. He prosecutes and defends in equal measure specialising in cases involving fatalities including matters under the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and the Construction Designs and Management Regulations. He recently acted on behalf of KJ a nursery worker accused of being responsible for the death of a child in her care; the case formed the basis of the Channel 4 Dispatches Documentary ‘How Safe is Your Child’s Nursery’. Of the four defendants indicted in the case Mr Hunt’s client was the only one acquitted by the jury.
He specialises in cases of fatalities at work. Recent cases include a fatal accident during unloading of gardening materials (R v Moore’s Turf and Topsoil), a fatality at a rice processing plant (R v Veetee Rice) and a fatality at a metal processing plant (R v North Kent Shotblasting), a fatality at Heathrow Airport (R v Aviance Ltd) and a fatality at a steel processing works (R v Wessex Lift Company Ltd).
Quentin has particular experience in and familiarity with cases involving accidents at construction sites and is regarded as an expert in cases involving the Construction Design and Management Regulations. Notable recent cases include a fatality due to a collapsed excavation (R v HMB Services) and a serious collapse of supporting steelwork at a construction site (R v Landmark Groundworks).
Quentin is listed as recommended counsel in Legal 500, an independent guide to the legal profession.
