Disclosure / Fraud 

R v SS 

Major Carbon Credit & Diamond trial collapses after Narita exposed fundamental disclosure failings. 

The Prosecution brought against 8 defendants for an alleged fraud involving the sale of carbon credits for the purposes of investment. The client asserted that he believed that there was a viable market for carbon credits and that the value of the credits would rise.

The trial collapsed as a result of the prosecution’s reliance on an expert witness, Andrew Ager and disclosure failings. The prosecution asserted that Mr. Ager was an expert in the carbon credits market and relied upon him to secure convictions in over 20 earlier, multi handed trials. 

Narita’s cross-examination of the expert witness, uncovered startling facts and admissions, which made it clear that Mr. Ager’s evidence was incapable of any independent review, quite apart from his evident unsuitability as an expert witness. At the conclusion of the voir dire the prosecution confirmed that they abandoned Mr. Ager and that he had been removed from the National Crime Agency’s list of approved experts. The trial judge commented that Mr. Ager should never be permitted to give expert evidence again.

As a result of Narita’s cross-examination of the purported expert, the safety of the convictions in every previous carbon credits prosecution was reviewed. 

Narita was instructed to act on behalf of those who appealed earlier convictions, based on the purported expert’s evidence. 

The case received extensive media coverage: 

The TimesThe TelegraphThe BBCDaily Mail