James Hines KC

Practice Areas

James Hines KC acts in major international fraud, crime and extradition. His experience, versatility and judgement are highly sought after. James has acted in numerous SFO, FCA and CMA cases. In 2015 he led the SFO US$ LIBOR prosecution. He is currently instructed in the Tom Hayes CCRC referral back to the Court of Appeal.

Current notable cases include defending in Operation Barbados, a multimillion-pound VAT fraud and SFO v London Mining involving bribery of government officials in Sierra Leone (January 2025).

In crime he has acted in all areas including corruption, murder, robbery, and drugs. In 2023 he defended in Operation Rockrose, an EncroChat conspiracy to murder, a contract killing case.

During the pandemic James assisted the Cayman DPP in the Cayman Islands. He additionally prosecuted two matters: smuggling US$7m worth of raw Venezuelan gold on a private jet and prosecuting two former officials of the Cayman Islands Football Association for corruption, false accounting, and money laundering.

James has extensive experience advising and acting in private prosecutions and for some years was outside criminal counsel for the Microsoft Corporation.

Notable clients include a suspect in the recent 1MDB trial in Malaysia, Mrs Tollman, Glenn Mulcaire (News of the World phone hacking), ‘Nat West three’, and Silvio Berlusconi (by live television link to his trial in Milan).

Career

Called 1982, Silk 2015. Chair Bar Council Ethics Committee, Master of the Bench Gray’s Inn, Visiting Professor of BPP University Law School 2022.