Martin Browne

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Martin  advises on complex procedural matters and international investigations across multiple jurisdictions. A French and Russian speaker, Martin undertook a master’s degree in International Criminal Law at Leiden in the Netherlands where he gained practical experience working on defence cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Returning to the UK, Martin worked on a range of civil and insolvency cases, and was part of the Hillsborough Inquests team.

Martin trained for the Bar, passing the Bar Professional Training Course with a James Crouch Scholarship from Gray’s Inn. Martin continues to combine his practical and academic interests. He has lectured on human rights law, international law and international criminal law at universities in the UK and Russia. Martin recently completed a PhD concerning the police’s obligations under human rights law.

Martin joined Barnfather Solicitors in 2016 and has advised on numerous complex, international fraud investigations. He uses his research strengths to identify and interrogate legal problems that encompass both civil and criminal proceedings.

Recent cases

• Represented a trustee of a pension fund in contemporaneous criminal and regulatory proceedings concerning alleged pension liberation and fraudulent investment. Conducted liaison with The Pensions Regulator, court appointed administrators of a pension trust as well as the criminal investigation
• Acted for a client engaging in a HMRC internal review into the unlawful investigation into his business activities stretching back to 2010. Assessed the voluminous evidence relating to HMRC’s multiple errors and compiled a statement for the client to use in assisting the internal review with its findings
• Represented a contracts manager of a major UK engineering company in relation to an investigation into alleged corrupt payments to secure contracts and fraudulent tendering processes
• Represented directors of a logistics company accused of fraudulently evading import duties on solar panels. Conducted lengthy analysis on alleged loss to the Treasury and the EU, estimated at more than £50m. Conducted research on the European anti-dumping regulations identifying that liability did not actually arise as alleged. Advised on the Official Receiver’s Directors Questionnaires, related civil matters and responding to an EU Anti-Fraud (OLAF) investigation into the same allegations
• Acted for an individual subject to allegations of fraudulent sale of arms and potential Interpol notice. Conducted enquiries into the host country investigations, using local contacts to assist with understanding the procedure. Successfully satisfied the client’s concerns as enquiries revealed a lack of a formal notice and indicated the weaknesses of an allegation based on political pressures in the foreign country