Carl Brown

Carl spent 10 years with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, investigating high profile fraud, corruption, and money laundering cases with an international dimension. His experience includes time with the Mutual Legal Assistance team, supporting overseas investigators in obtaining evidence in the UK, and then being part of the case team investigating allegations of bribery and corruption against BAE Systems PLC.

In 2010, Carl joined the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), where he held the rank of Inspector. The SIPT investigated allegations of bribery, corruption, and money laundering within the TCI government. In 2013, Carl entered private practice as an investigator with a London-based law firm, specializing in international corruption cases. He undertook internal investigations for corporations facing DOJ or SFO action in relation to allegations of bribery and corruption.

Prior to joining Ankura, Carl spent six years as the senior investigator responsible for internal investigations at an FTSE 100 company. There, he dealt with a wide variety of investigations including fraud, financial crime, and other criminal or conduct-based investigations with safeguarding elements, often requiring a trauma-informed approach.

Since joining Ankura, Carl has conducted investigations for clients within the sports sector, including whistleblower allegations. These matters have included abuse of power, inappropriate conduct, and all elements of financial crime.

Examples of Carl’s professional experience include:

Law Enforcement

• Carl has considerable experience as an interviewer and has prepared, planned, and conducted numerous interviews with high level suspects, witnesses, whistleblowers, victims, and survivors.
• He has planned and undertaken search operations in the UK and overseas, including drafting and making applications for search warrants. As an Accredited Financial Investigator, he drafted and made applications for production orders under Proceeds of Crime legislation.
• He has led inquiries in Tanzania, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, and other locations, working in collaboration with local law enforcement.

Private Practice

• In private practice, Carl assisted in the defense of a high-profile company under investigation by the SFO. This involved the review of a previously undertaken internal investigation, conducting interviews of senior executives across multiple jurisdictions in consideration of allegations of bribery, corruption, and sanctions violations, and working with the company’s U.S. lawyers to determine any DOJ jurisdiction over the events under investigation.
• Conducted an anti-bribery and corruption audit of an international company’s marketing arrangements. This included managing the team examining the company’s arrangements with global marketing consultants and making recommendations based on the corruption risk. He was also involved in advising the company’s Group Disputes Resolution Director on arbitration matters.

Internal Investigations

• In a previous role, Carl was responsible for the investigation of all allegations of internal fraud, financial crime, data theft, and other serious conduct issues across an FTSE 100 company’s EMEA organization.
• He led fraud and data theft investigations in collaboration with law enforcement that led to successful criminal convictions or resulted in disciplinary action and dismissal.
• He also conducted investigations involving issues of safeguarding or duty of care, requiring a trauma-informed approach. These included allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, bullying, and other coercive behavior and drug-taking in the workplace.
• Since joining Ankura, Carl has actively supported the firm’s Sports practice, conducting a variety of reviews and investigations, including:
  • A high-profile investigation for an international sports regulator, into whistleblower allegations of inappropriate conduct and abuse of power
  • An investigation on behalf of a global sports organization into allegations of fraud, corruption, money laundering, and other criminal activity within a national association.