Virginia Rylatt is a leading expert on Civil Fraud and Asset Tracing.  She spearheaded Withers LLP’s International Fraud and Asset Tracing Group 2005 to 2009.

Virginia (then a partner at Mackenzie Mills) had the conduct of the Alliance & Leicester Building Society’s case against Edge (Alliance & Leicester Building Society & Others v. Edge. Limited & Others [1993] 1 WLR 1462), which established as a new legal concept that there could be no contributory negligence to fraud, a principal which was subsequently endorsed and applied by Lord Hoffman in the House of Lords judgment in Standard Chartered Bank v. Pakistan National Shipping Corporation & Others [2003]1 AC 959.

In 2003, as a partner of Withers LLP, she had the conduct of Mr Mimran’s tracing claim for his money (which was paid to Westbond International Bank in Lugano) into the yacht, the “Mosaique”.  The case (Peter Shalson & Others v. Onofrio Russo & Others [2003] EWHC 1637 (Ch) provided the paradigm example of both the law and the mechanics of this “Ponzi” scheme fraud as to how one can establish (or defeat) a tracing claim. 

Rylatt Chubb is able to provide clearly formulated options for dealing with claims involving dishonesty: e.g. fraud, deceit, fraudulent misrepresentations and conspiracy to defraud, knowing receipt and dishonest assistance.  Situated close to the higher courts, we are well placed to take immediate action to deal with volatile assets and emergency applications to the High Court.

We are also able to assist trustees and corporate boards by providing advice to reduce the exposure of assets to the risk of fraud. 

Recent instructions have included representing victims of a multi-million pound international Ponzi scheme; fraudulent investment schemes and a claim alleging the obtaining of shares in an offshore company by fraudulent means.