Dechert

The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is considering whether to formally investigate Dechert partner Neil Gerrard over claims he committed "serious wrongs" during a fraud investigation he was leading in the Middle East several years ago.

Dechert co-head of white collar and securities investigations practice Gerrard, is named in an SRA report form sent to the regulator by Jordanian detainee Karam Al Sadeq and seen by Legal Week, the U.K. arm of Law.com International.

The form, filed by Al Sadeq in February, relates to Gerrard's alleged actions during a previous investigation which Gerrard led between 2014 and 2016.

Al Sadeq claims in the document that Gerrard "coerced" him into "agreeing to give false evidence" during an investigation into the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) over alleged fraud committed by the company's former CEO, which led to Al Sadeq being "wrongfully convicted", the form to the SRA states.

An SRA spokesperson said on Thursday: "We are investigating before we decide on [the] next steps."

Al Sadeq has also filed a claim in London's High Court against Gerrard, white collar Dechert partner Caroline Black and former Dechert partner David Hughes (now partner at Stewarts Law) and Dechert. He claims the defendants "were prepared to and did violate his rights", and in doing so, "directed or were complicit in his ill treatment and/or torture", according to the particulars of the claim, which were served on Tuesday.

The particulars of claim state that Al Sadeq is asking for compensation in excess of AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) 75 million, or around $20.4 million.

According to the particulars of claim, during interrogations led by Gerrard, who was allegedly usually accompanied by Black and/or Hughes, Al Sadeq claims that the partners "pressured" him to "cooperate" in the investigation by "making threats". He also claims he was "denied legal representation" and "did not provide consent to being interrogated", and alleges that "Gerrard threatened to have Mrs Al Sadeq arrested unless Mr Al Sadeq 'cooperated' with them."

He also claims in the particulars of claim that Gerrard allegedly pressured him to pay "four years salary with interest and all of the amounts due by the government of Ras Al Khaimah to Dechert" and to "forge a confession of taking bribes".

Responding to the claims about Gerrard, Black and Dechert, a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement: "The allegations against the firm and its personnel are completely without foundation and we shall be vigorously defending ourselves against them."

A Stewarts Law spokesperson said in a statement: "David Hughes emphatically denies the allegations made but will not make any further comment at this stage in view of the legal proceedings issued."

Jordanian lawyer Al Sadeq's claims relate to a fraud investigation between 2014-16 regarding the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK)'s state agency, the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA).

This claim is brought separately from previous proceedings between RAKIA and Farhad Azima, in which Neil Gerrard testified as a witness in January.

Gerrard said during his cross-examination as a witness in RAKIA v Azima in court in January that the RAK jails that were "more modern than the ones I have seen" and that he had "followed the process of PACE [the Police and Criminal Evidence Act] with the detainees", who had allegedly agreed in writing to being interviewed.

According to Gerrard, the interviews took place in the presence of lawyers and with the detainee's written agreement. He added in court that he "did not know of human rights abuses" in RAK.