Greg Unwin

Greg Unwin’s core practice is defending in complex multi-handed organised crime trials.

• R v Ali – Targeted gang murder in East London. Client acquitted of murder.
• R v Betts-Ramsey – ‘Ringleader’ in transphobic stabbing.
• R v TD –15 year old client acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
• R v SA – Mother charged with murder of her newborn baby. Upon extensive expert evidence, a plea to infanticide was accepted.
• R v Drevenak & Ors – For lead defendant in high profile modern slavery trial attracting media and documentary coverage.
• R v Johnson-Davies – Perverting the course of justice, Beckenham Place Park murder trial.
• Operation Galway – Leading junior for first defendant in seven-week trial. Successful dismissal of firearms charge. Only defendant acquitted of drugs conspiracy.
• Operation Skawa – Human trafficking and controlling prostitution.
• R v Bearman – Gross negligence manslaughter. Fatal electrocution of 7 year old boy in pub garden.
• Operation Atoll – Multiple gunpoint robberies of cash-in-transit vans.
• Operation Spruce – Leading junior in seven week trial of conspiracy to export high value stolen vehicles.
• R v JC – Acted for a defendant in the Hampstead paedophile conspiracy, later subject of the ‘Hoaxed’ podcast.
• R v CH – Rape of partner and causing others to engage in sexual activity.
• Operation Endorse – Gang shooting of drugs runner by rival county lines network.
• R v NB – Murder of resident in St Mungo’s hostel, who died five years after the original assault.
• Operation Departer – Defendant facilitated escape to Syria of aspiring jihadi following the ISIS inspired murder of a spiritual healer.
• R v McCarthy – Traveller site murder trial.
• Operation Trieste – Multi-kilo drugs conspiracy.
• R v KR – Sexual assault of a child in religious family context.
• Operation Ilex – Armed robberies conspiracy.
• R v KP – Defendant with psychotic illness imprisoned her GP during home visit and attacked her with a baseball bat.
• R v Ray – 6 Arch Rev 4 – Argued military issue smoke grenade was not a prohibited firearm.

Greg Unwin prosecutes and defends in cases involving allegations of serious fraud, money laundering and international corruption. He has advised companies during criminal investigations. He is appointed to the SFO panel B and the CPS specialist fraud panel.

• R v Mawson – RSPCA trustee diverted over £100k of charity funds.
• Operation Riot – Leading junior for first defendant in ten-week fraud trial. High Court writ of habeas corpus. Interlocutory order by Lady Chief Justice that trial continue without a jury. Defendant acquitted by judge of all counts.
• Operation Volcanic – VHCC. Largest known DWP fraud investigation.
• Operation Cathird – Company director laundering proceeds of €3.8 million European Distribution Fraud.
• Operation Vitelius  – Junior alone in £9 million cyber fraud. Identity theft, ‘vishing’ and harvesting of financial details sold on the dark web for cryptocurrency.
• Bulmer ‘art heist’ trial – Saga of recovery of fine art stolen from the mansion of the heir to the Bulmer’s Cider fortune.
• R v Say – Complex pensions and property fraud trial of IFA acknowledged as industry expert. Examination of financial witnesses.
• R v Emery – Carbon credits boiler room fraud.
• Operation Hornet – Retained by financial institution to advise on LPP in £245m criminal fraud investigation.
• Operation Airbrick – Company director acquitted after seven week trial of £14 million money laundering allegations in the under bond alcohol trading industry.
• United Arab Emirates v Akhand – Direct Access. Defendant’s extradition to the UAE for US$8 million cheque fraud resisted on dual criminality grounds.
• Operation Steamroller  – Independent LPP counsel instructed by the SFO in international $120 million share sale fraud prosecution.

Level 4 CPS Panel Advocate. Fraud Specialist Panel Level 4. Serious Crime Specialist Panel Level 4

• • Operation Panda – Instructed by CPS Serious Economic Organised Crime Directorate. Repeated employment fraud by senior civil servant.
  • Operation Charmless – Flying squad investigation: armed robberies trial and post-conviction advice on unduly lenient sentence. Sentence increased to life upon AG reference.
  • Operation Lexington – Conspiracy to commit multiple professional dwelling burglaries targeting £200k of firearms and jewellery.
  • R v Dabycharun EWCA Crim 1923 – Deliberate wounding with a vehicle. Appeal against conviction (bad character, lies) dismissed.
  • R v Dickens & Ano – Targeted firebombing of victim in his car.
  • LB Barnet v McKenzie & Ano – Fraud by abuse of position by council employees.
  • SFO v Güralp Systems Ltd – Junior counsel for the SFO led by Simon Mayo KC. Deferred prosecution agreement and ten week trial of directors for conspiracy to make corrupt payments to a government official in South Korea.
  • R v Blackburn & Ors – Fraudulent evasion of duty on cigarettes. CPS Specialist Fraud Division.
  • R v Richie & Nolan  – Robbery and aggravated burglary of drug dealer in his home. Both defendants convicted and received double figure sentences.
  • R v Ian Paterson – High profile cancer surgeon deliberately wounded multiple patients in unnecessary operations. Prosecution disclosure junior.
  • R v Russell & Storey – Junior alone. Highly publicised, serious acid attack causing life changing injuries. Investigation reopened when a ‘grass’ came forward after a Crimewatch appeal. Both defendants were convicted after trial with lead defendant receiving 17-year extended sentence.

Greg Unwin advises and defends individuals and companies facing investigation and prosecution for alleged regulatory breaches, particularly by Trading Standards authorities. He is able accept instructions directly from the client. In 2019 he was appointed to the Regulatory Advocates List B. He is experienced in healthcare professional regulatory proceedings.

• Re Y Ltd – Advice on employer’s liability for subcontractors subject to immigration control.
• Re S Ltd – Successfully resisted private prosecutor’s application for a summons alleging consumer protection offences against online retailer.
• Re S UK – Advised multinational €1.4bn retailer on the application of Coronavirus Regulations, resulting in withdrawal of threatened enforcement action.
• R v SL – Successful motion to quash charges turning on the interpretation of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
• Re T Ltd – Advised drinks company on the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations.
• Re C Ltd – Advised multi-office conveyancing firm on Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
• Winterbourne View Hospital – Healthcare professional regulatory proceedings.
• NMC v Coulter, Banwell & Kennard– Healthcare professional regulatory proceedings.

Greg Unwin acts principally for the defence in post-conviction confiscation proceedings and on private instruction in account freezing / forfeiture applications.

• Op Salerno (ongoing) – Acting for company director in £59 million money laundering prosecution.
• Re C – Successful discharge of £45 million Restraint Order for high net worth investor.
• Op Volcanic – £64 million confiscation proceedings following largest ever DWP fraud.
• Operation Cathird – For company director laundering proceeds of €3.8 million European Distribution Fraud.
• R v Jiang – Lloyd’s Rep. F.C. 315 – Chinese “underground banking”. £4.9m benefit figure reduced to £1.5m in contested confiscation proceedings.
• Operation Princekin – Acting for several Chinese Nationals resisting NCA applications for Account Forfeiture Orders.
• R v Barrington – Benefit figure reduced in confiscation proceedings from £3m to £500k.
• R v Navarro – Section 22 POCA reconsideration involving third party interests.

Greg Unwin has presented numerous fitness to practise hearings before healthcare regulatory panels. He was chosen to present particularly complex and high profile cases on behalf of the NMC. He is able to accept direct access instructions from individual healthcare professionals.

• Winterbourne View Hospital  – Series of document-heavy hearings against multiple senior nurses in management roles during the institutional abuse scandal exposed by BBC Panorama.
• NMC v Coulter, Banwell & Kennard – Secret footage, shown on BBC Newsnight, revealed mistreatment of brain injury patient.
• NMC v Matthews – Midwife threatened mother in labour.
• NMC v Avramova  – Catalogue of misconduct charges including attempt to inject air bolus into newborn baby.
• NMC v Johnson – Manager of mental health ward performed nazi salutes and mistreated patients and staff.

• SFO v Güralp Systems Ltd – Junior counsel for the SFO led by Simon Mayo KC. Deferred prosecution agreement and ten-week trial of directors for conspiracy to make corrupt payments to a government official in South Korea.

R v MI (2025) – Reversal of equivocal plea resulting from deficient legal advice, under Crown Court’s appellate jurisdiction.

Mohammed v Islam [2024] 4 W.L.R. 88 – Appeal before Lady Chief Justice; whether long fraud trial should continue with judge alone following jury tampering.

R v Kent [2023] EWCA Crim 1771 – Advised CPS on unduly lenient sentence for armed robberies. Resultant AG’s Ref increased sentence to ‘two strikes’ life.

R v Jiang [2023] 4 W.L.R. 62 – Whether proceeds of an unregistered Money Service Business become criminal property.

PI & Ors v Governor of HMP Birmingham (2023) – Secured the release of nine defendants in out-of-hours High Court habeas corpus proceedings.

R v Dabycharun [2022] R.T.R. 25 – Appeal concerning bad character gateways and lies direction.

R v Jordan Smith [2019] EWCA Crim 1151 – Extent to which prosecution may undermine its own witnesses.

R v SA [2019] 4 W.L.R. 142 – Resisted prosecution appeal against terminating ruling on elements needed to prove a common law conspiracy to defraud.

R v Onyeagucha [2018] EWCA Crim 2960 – Successful appeal against life sentence for repeated stabbing.

Cowan v DPP (2013) 177 J.P. 474 – Successful case stated appeal in High Court on whether a university campus was a ‘public place’.

R v Nguyen, Mai & vin Dao [2013] Crim LR 234 – Whether threat of false imprisonment can establish the defence of duress. Application of the Human Trafficking Convention. Junior alone for appellants against David Perry KC.

• Re S UK – Advised multinational €1.4bn retailer on the application of Coronavirus Regulations, resulting in withdrawal of threatened enforcement action.
• R v SL – Successful motion to quash charges turning on the interpretation of the ConsumerProtection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
• Re T Ltd – Advised drinks company on Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations enforcement action.
• R v Madden & Ors – Defended in timeshare regulations prosecution.