Geoffrey Cox has appeared in many high profile cases receiving national and international publicity from trial to appeal before the Court of Appeal, the Privy Council and the House of Lords. He has advised and appeared frequently in overseas jurisdictions including Mauritius and the Cayman Islands. Until he took silk he was Standing Counsel to the Government of Mauritius, advising and representing the Government in a wide range of private law actions as well as constitutional and public law issues. He specialises in commercial fraud both civil and criminal.

Geoffrey Cox is highly regarded for his versatility and for bringing drive, tactical skill and intellectual precision to each field in which he appears. His advocacy has been described by a professional court journalist in a recent book as “flamboyant” and “extremely persuasive”. He appears in the High Court in civil fraud and asset recovery proceedings, human rights, defamation, malicious prosecutions and related actions and in judicial review cases. He appears regularly before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. In 2002/03, he advised and appeared for the MD of a substantial private Bank in the Cayman Islands in both the civil and criminal actions involving the money laundering laws and was subsequently instructed by Deloitte & Touche as liquidators to advise the Bank. He took silk in 2003.

Since his appointment as Queen’s Counsel, he has appeared in the massive Jubilee Line fraud trial; for the millionaire businessman Nicholas Van Hoogstraten in the criminal hearing which resulted in his acquittal and his successful appeal against multi-million pound international freezing orders and contempt proceedings. He appeared for multiple appellants in their appeals against convictions involving the alleged systematic abuse of the guidelines relating to participating informants and entrapment by British customs officers in Pakistan. He is instructed on behalf of the billionaire city financier, Viren Rastogi, in proceedings related to his company, RGB Resources, a case involving allegations of vast and complex alleged international fraud and huge international asset recovery actions in multiple jurisdictions. He has recently appeared for the Government of Turkey in a civil fraud and asset recovery action in the Cayman Islands involving super yachts worth over $70 million and has successfully defended a member of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment charged with war crimes.

Complex financial crime:

His many major criminal cases include the conduct of the defence for the main defendant in the Iraqi Nuclear Trigger Trial (UN/UK sanctions), the appeal of R v Preddy and Dhillon to the House of Lords, for the defence in the first major prosecution for breaching international sanctions against Serbia, in the leading case on money laundering, R v El Kurd, and for the Managing Director (and subsequently for Deloitte & Touche as liquidators) in the Eurobank money laundering prosecution in the Cayman Islands in 2002/3. In 2003/4, he led in the Jubilee Line fraud trial at the Central Criminal Court. In 2001, he appeared in a series of trials of police officers accused of corruption (he is described as "flamboyant" and "very persuasive" by Graeme Mclagan in his account of the trials, "Bent Coppers"; Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2003).

Human Rights and Judicial Review:

Geoffrey Cox has a special interest in human rights. In 2005 he appeared for over 400 widowers in their judicial review appeal in the House of Lords against the government for equality of provision in survivors' benefits (Hooper & Os v DFWP). He has appeared in the Privy Council in appeals involving the right to fair elections (Mohammed v Ahmad (1994) WLR 697 PC) and the right to the fair treatment for ethnic minorities in schooling (Matadeen v Pointou (1999) AC 9).

Civil and commercial:

Geoffrey advises and appears in defamation, malicious prosecution, commercial fraud and breach of confidence cases. He has recently represented a Liverpool football player in disputes with several newspapers and a well known inventor of games in his action against a major multi-national oil company for breach of confidence. He is currently advising and appearing for the Government of Turkey in the Cayman Islands in a civil fraud and asset recovery action involving two super-yachts worth over £70 million.

Disciplinary proceedings and Inquiries;

Geoffrey Cox also advises and appears in a wide range of inquiries and disciplinary proceedings, for solicitors, doctors, city institutions, and in the sports arena where he has represented a British Olympic and Commonwealth games athlete in proceedings for drug abuse. He has advised on issues relating to the tragic deaths at the Deepcut military camp.

Elected Member of Parliament for Torridge and Devon West in May 2005

Criminal Bar Association

British Institute of International and Comparative Law