Peter Caldwell

Practice Areas

Criminal Law

Extradition

Business Crime

Professional Discipline and Regulation

Data Protection and Information Law

Sanctions

International Law

Criminal Appeals

Career

Peter Caldwell is a recognised leader in the fields of financial crime, extradition and sanctions. He advises and represents individuals and businesses in international investigations of bribery, money laundering and sanctions. Peter is relied on to protect his clients from the adverse reputational consequences of regulatory investigations. He has over twenty-five years’ experience defending in criminal and regulatory cases where the outcome depends on excellent witness examination and trial advocacy.

Peter is head of Doughty Street International’s Sanctions Team. Clients value his international criminal law and public law experience for advice on sanctions and regulatory compliance. Peter has long been recognised as a leader in extradition law. The landmark extradition cases in which he has acted (Popoviciu, Love, Symeou, Elashmawy, Tollman, Fenyvesi, Turner among many others), shaped the law under the 2003 Act. He has successfully challenged extradition on grounds of abuse of process, political persecution, insufficiency of evidence and human rights arguments on prison conditions, fair trial, family rights and mental health.

Peter is a natural choice to advise on international investigations of financial crime, fraud and breaches of sanctions, where experience and insight across these fields is required. Peter advises senior managers in corporate internal investigations at the highest level. He acted as leading counsel for the defence in SFO v Williams & Kallakis, for a senior director of BAe Systems Plc in the SFO Tanzania bribery investigation and in the seminal IIG Plc, SFO trial.

Peter has longstanding experience in sanctions work including trade sanctions and export controls. His practice encompasses compliance and licensing advice to businesses and individuals, as well representation in enforcement investigations. Peter has acted in a number of high-profile US Sanctions cross-border cases and in investigations by the United Nations. He also acts for designated persons in reviews and challenges to UN and FCDO designations.

Peter has acted in the landmark cases which have shaped the law of extradition since the commencement of the Extradition Act 2003. Peter has been instructed in highly sensitive requests where extradition has been sought by states as diverse as India, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Brazil, Thailand, Peru, Pakistan, Colombia, Antigua, Paraguay, Hong Kong, the Russian Federation and the UAE, as well as the USA and Commonwealth jurisdictions. He also regularly acts in Part 1 cases and has particularly deep knowledge of the political and human rights situation in Romania, Hungary and CIS states.

Peter has over 25 years’ experience in defending people accused of serious criminal offences, and preserving the reputations of those falsely accused.

He has defended in cases ranging as widely as conspiracy to burgle the Fitzwilliam Museum, the manslaughter of 50 Chinese immigrants, the handling of stolen diamonds and cocaine supply "on an industrial scale". He has particular experience in terrorist cases and representing those subject to ancillary orders.

In very many of the cases in which he has acted the prosecution has been stopped or discontinued following legal submissions on disclosure, abuse of process or the sufficiency of the evidence. Peter also brings his experience in Judicial Review proceedings to successfully challenge decisions of the CPS to prosecute and, when acting for victims of crime, not to prosecute.

Peter has also advised on private prosecutions both on behalf of victims of crime and for those accused of crime by private prosecutors.

Peter acts on behalf of parties affected by proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA). He represents third parties and interested persons in restraint and confiscation proceedings and acts in civil recovery proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court and the High Court.