Law In Action: Alison Levitt QC On Private Prosecutions

Head of Mishcon de Reya's White Collar Crime & Investigations Group Alison Levitt QC featured on BBC Radio 4's Law in Action programme commenting on the recent private prosecution of Paul Sultana for a €100m investment fraud.

Speaking to Joshua Rozenberg, Alison said:

"The private prosecution looks identical to a public prosecution. In fact, the jury in this case did not know it was a private prosecution. The difference is that it's not brought by the Crown Prosecution Service or one of the other statutory agencies - it can be brought by an individual, a company or a charity.

"Once a case has started it runs in exactly the same way as any other criminal prosecution, including the fact that - at the end of it - the same punishments are available as they would be in a public prosecution, including imprisonment.

"I think we will see an increase...