John Davies

John joined Olliers in the Spring of 2026 bringing with him over 20 years of crime and regulatory experience within leading ‘business crime’ specialist teams such as Irwin Mitchell’s highly regarded ‘Regulatory and Criminal Investigations Group’, Cartwright King and the insurance backed experts at rradar.  Most recently John was successfully involved in establishing a Manchester offering in crime and regulatory matters for MSB Solicitors.

One of John’s key differentiators is his experience working in sales and account management roles for leading companies before changing his career direction towards the legal profession.  This rich tapestry of business experience provides a unique blend of commerciality and legal cognisance when dealing with the pressures facing businesses and their custodians.  Clients and colleagues have spoken of John’s attention to detail, and his “technical flair” whilst providing a calming influence, approachability, and an ability to give sound pragmatic advice.

Serious Fraud and Corruption

We operate in a volatile economic environment, both domestically and internationally.  Serious fraud is again on the increase despite businesses operating within what has become an increasingly regulated environment.  There is greater focus on the resourcing of agencies such as the National Crime Agency (‘NCA’), the Serious Fraud Office (‘SFO’), and the HMRC. John has considerable experience of defending individuals and businesses facing these crises, both individually and as part of management teams.

Bribery and corruption are complementary issues to fraud.  John was involved in a leading bribery and corruption case that was heard in 2019 where the first human defendants charged following a deferred prosecution agreement were acquitted after trial. Aside from defending individuals facing charges under the Bribery Act 2010, he can also advise companies too.  This includes advice and guidance in respect of the ‘Fail to Prevent Offences’.   John was involved in one of the first failure to prevent tax evasion cases.

Tax Fraud & Investigations 

John has worked on some of the country’s largest criminal tax investigations and prosecutions. He also enjoys a strong working relationship with a renowned tax specialist, with offices around the country and can offer collaborative work with this contact.  Work includes representation in a Tax Tribunal and having HMRC ‘Notices of Requirement’ withdrawn as a result of making persuasive appeals that were substantially out of time. 

Financial Crime

John is experienced in representing individuals facing criminal investigations conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Offences & Confiscation

John enjoys the rigours of confiscation proceedings and has developed considerable expertise over several years in this area. This has also seen John work collaboratively with the Crown and the Enforcement Receiver in one case where a third party’s inactivity was serving to prejudice a client’s interests.  This involved work to evidence a claim of over £1 million against a well-known motorcycle brand.  John was able to defend an existing client’s position when a Regional Asset Recovery Team sought to vary an existing confiscation Order, returning to it after nine years to claim more money.  These are notoriously difficult to defend but JD was able to do so.  John is also experienced in dealing with Restraint Orders, and Cash Seizure matters.  He has also taken an interest in new measures open to prosecutors such as Unexplained Wealth Orders.

Regulatory Matters

John has a broad range of experience in the regulatory field, defending matters brought by a plethora of agencies, ranging from Environment Agency investigations, Health and Safety Executive investigations and prosecutions to local authorities.  Some highlights include:

• Successful defence of a former company director when he was investigated by the Insolvency Service for ‘bounce back loan’ fraud;
• Representing a farming business in an Environment Agency investigation concerning an alleged leakage of slurry into a watercourse resulting in fish kill. 
• Representing the directors of different recycling companies in an separate Environment Agency investigations alleging breaches of their environmental permits with overloaded facilities.  One of these resulted in warning letters being issued rather than any more serious action.
• Involved in the defence of a business that was implicated in a fatality on a new housing development in a Health and Safety prosecution. 
• Defended a company director of a roofing contracting company when the Health and Safety executive continued with a prosecution for a fatality when an operative fell through a client’s roof.
• Averted Health and Safety Executive proceedings for a small engineering business when they were investigated for having dangerous machinery exposing staff to risk, and also the dispersal of harmful dust and fluids.
• Defending a skate park in a local authority health and safety investigation following a child’s fall at their premises from stunt ramps.
• Defending a small food business and its director following a particularly bad local authority food hygiene inspection in London.
• Advising in an Insolvency Service investigation into ‘phoenix conduct’ of a pub company and the use of prohibited names.
• Advising and representing an individual facing DEFRA allegations of forgery in relation to a rabies vaccination.
• Representing numerous landlords and housing agencies in relation to local authority actions in respect of Housing Act 2004 breaches concerning alleged HMO and Selective Licensing failures.

Memberships & Community Engagement

John has memberships with the following professional groups: Fraud Lawyer’s Association (FLA), Health and Safety Lawyer’s Association (HSLA), and the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA).  John JD is currently a member of ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) and gets regular emails informing of the latest fraud developments around the World.

John has also contributed to Sheffield and District Law Society, previously as a management committee member and more recently as Chair of an inaugural Crime and Regulatory Sub Committee. In terms of regional groups, he is also a regular attender of events held by the North East Regulatory Lawyer’s Group.

With his commitment to the development of the next generation of lawyers, John has lectured and presented at Sheffield Hallam University and has also been involved in mentoring programmes to give counsel and guidance to students looking to develop their legal careers.  

He has also been a provided advice as one of trusted counsel to ISRAAC, the Somali community group in Sheffield.

What Others Say

• “I thoroughly enjoy working alongside John. As well as his obvious professionalism, he is a reassuring presence to my clients. He also applies rigorous lateral thinking to his conduct of cases to arrive at solutions that were not readily apparent at the outset.  He is very personable, and I am happy to provide the highest possible recommendation. I look forward to continuing to work with him in future.”    

(ND at NHDTS)