Introduction
Henry is an experienced barrister with expertise in confiscation and asset recovery, regulatory matters, local authority work, licensing and financial crime.
He has significant experience in high-value (£multi-million) cases involving intricate points of law and international elements – often including matters of sensitivity.
He is the joint editor of Millington and Sutherland Williams on the Proceeds of Crime – the leading text on confiscation – and he authors the chapters on enforcement and preliminary matters.
As well as being a successful defence counsel, Henry is on the list of specialist regulatory advocates (level B), and he is also a top-level grade 4 prosecutor in proceeds of crime / confiscation. In addition, he is a member of the SFO’s proceeds of crime and international assistance panel.
He regularly appears both solely and led in high-value cases and he has acted in cases involving foreign governments and international prosecuting authorities – often with sensitive case features and against King’s Counsel.
He undertakes a significant amount of work in the First-Tier Tribunal (in a variety of Chambers), the Upper Tribunal and on judicial review matters.
Henry also accepts taxation work (both direct and indirect), and quasi-criminal and private prosecution work both litigated and by providing focused advice on strategic and evidential issues.
Regulatory
Henry accepts local authority work: both prosecuting and defending.
This includes a wide variety of areas such as: environmental matters, consumer protection work, Trade Marks Act 1994 matters, social security work, scrap metal, food hygiene, mobile homes / caravans, care homes.
He is also experienced in judicial review matters.
His licensing expertise is mainly in taxi matters but also encompasses alcohol and entertainment licences (including appeals).
Private prosecutions: acting on behalf of OFCOM, the Insolvency Service and local authorities to advise on and then conduct cases.
Sports law: advising and acting for sports professionals including appeals against cricket match results, the British Boxing Board of Control disciplinary proceedings and contractual disputes.
Taxation: First-Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) matters including both direct and indirect taxation involving £multi-million sums, duties on goods, and condemnation of goods.
Confiscation / POCA 2002 matters
Henry has significant expertise and experience of over a decade in high-value confiscation proceedings (POCA 2002), asset recovery (including civil proceedings), and in cases involving intricate points of law and international elements – often including matters of sensitivity.
He has detailed expert knowledge of financial crime and confiscation (including asset recovery) and he is the joint editor of Millington and Sutherland Williams on the Proceeds of Crime– the leading text on confiscation, also authoring the chapters on enforcement and preliminary matters.
Henry is often sought for his pragmatic, timely and thorough advice on complex factual or legal issues.
Due to his understanding and experience of civil law, Henry is frequently instructed whether for the Defence, Third Parties or the Prosecution to act in matters of notable complexity – in both civil and criminal asset recovery proceedings.
He has a detailed knowledge of procedure – in particular relating to civil recovery matters, whether in the High Court or the magistrates’ court. He often advises and acts for those facing or contemplating applications for forfeiture or civil recovery orders.
Henry is on both the SFO and the CPS specialist panels in this area and has been instructed as leading junior as well as sole counsel.
Restraint orders: advising upon and drafting complex and very high value restraint orders dealing with issues such as offshore trusts, companies / corporate veil issues, probate, real property. Also dealing with applications to vary / discharge – almost always against KCs.
He advised on restraint and confiscation for the whole of Operation Venetic (all of the Encrochat cases).
International assistance / letters of request: very high value and politically sensitive letters of request to secure assets within the jurisdiction. For example, assets linked to the Brazilian Odebrecht corruption scandal, a £22 million London flat linked to a £52 million alleged Indian loan fraud, assets linked an alleged fraud (over £45 million) and assets sought by the FBI.
High Court proceedings: this includes civil recovery / Part 5 proceedings and CJA 1988 and DTA 1994 matters.
Crime
Henry appears in complex and detail-heavy matters in the areas of fraud, money laundering and other financial or corporate wrongdoing.
Cases he is instructed in often involve the use of complicated corporate or trust structures, frequently with international corporate or taxation elements.
He has experience and knowledge of an extensive range of fields connected to how fraud, money laundering and financial wrongdoing operates.
This includes insolvency, pensions, taxation (direct and indirect) and real property. In relation to these areas he has acted for the Insolvency Service and has appeared numerous times in the High Court, First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) and (Property Chamber) and advises on a wide range of such matters pre-litigation.
He also undertakes a significant amount of civil law (including judicial review) and quasi-criminal work – both litigated and advisory.
All of this extensive experience assists him with in-depth and complicated issues in cases in the areas of fraud, money laundering and other financial or corporate wrongdoing.
Henry has been instructed as leading and led junior as well as sole counsel.
He has experience dealing in matters of sensitivity both in terms of profile and security: such as police corruption, CHIS, PII, and QE (now KE) witnesses.
Other Experience
- Judicial review matters
- Other private prosecutions for individuals and companies (including for an insurance company)
- Contempt of court (both breach of Crown Court and High Court orders)
- Multi-track civil matters
- Real property matters including boundary disputes
- Probate matters including in the context of confiscation / asset recovery
- Employment law matters
Recent instructions include:
- Prosecuting a s.22 POCA 2002 application in a £36 million confiscation case.
- Operation Bidder (leading): £ multi-million duty and VAT evasion case prosecuting 11 defendants.
- Acting for and advising several third parties in s.10A POCA 2002 applications.
- Acting for a foreign state in relation to £15 million restraint order following a letter of request.
- Operation Amazon (led): £ multi-million confiscation and recovery of assets in a case lasting well over a decade.
- Acting in high-value account forfeiture applications, both for the applicant and the respondent.
- Contested receivership applications.
- Advising on Operation Venetic / Encrochat restraint and confiscation matters. In particular overarching advice on disclosure.
- Pre-charge advice, including on asset seizure/recovery, for high-profile individuals allegedly involved in a £ multi-million ‘Bounce Back Loan Scheme’ fraud and related money laundering.
- Advising on difficult points of law arising from confiscation proceedings against absent defendants.
- Defending a client convicted of international drugs offences (£50.1 million criminal benefit).
- Prosecuting restraint order applications in a multi-handed case worth over £50 million.
- Advising on £12 million restraint order and production order applications obtained for a foreign prosecuting authority.
- Acting for a private prosecutor pursuing allegations of insurance fraud. Having obtained guilty verdicts, all of the £40,000+ costs incurred were entirely recouped.
- Dealing with mutual legal assistance applications / international letters of request (both incoming and outgoing).
Publications & Research
- Millington and Sutherland Williams on the Proceeds of Crime 6th edition (joint editor), the 7th edition is due for publication in 2026/2027
- Banks on Sentence 10th edition (assistant editor)
- (Numerous) case notes for Lloyd’s Law Reports: Financial Crime
- H M Skudra, ‘R v Yasain – delineating the re-opening of appeals’ [2015] 9 Archbold Review 4
- H M Skudra, ‘Drug-Driving: Bringing the Law up to Speed’ (2015) 179 Criminal Law & Justice Weekly 27
- Henry Skudra, ‘Contempt of court – criminal court reporting’ [2014] 4 Archbold Review 4
- H M Skudra, ‘Fraudulent Trading As A Creditor’s Remedy – Time For A Rethink?’ (2013) 94 Amicus Curiae: the journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies 11
- Frequently lecturing / presenting to the CPS Proceeds of Crime Unit, the SFO, and also MBL Seminars
- Previously presenting seminars to the Midlands Fraud Forum, City of London Police, and the Network of Independent Forensic Accountants
Education
University of Durham, St Aidan’s College [2007 – 2010]
LL B (Hons) (Dunelm) – Law degree (Upper Second Class [2:1])
University of Durham, University College [2011 – 2012]
M Jur (Dunelm) – Master of Jurisprudence postgraduate law degree (by thesis and therefore not graded, but examiners commented, “The thesis should be seen as a valuable landmark in the discussion of this field”).
The 50,000 word thesis examined fraudulent trading incorporating both a jurisprudential and a practice-based analysis which also examined asset recovery.
College of Law, Birmingham [2012]
Bar Professional Training Course – Very Competent
Panels
Specialist regulatory advocates list (level B)
Serious Fraud Office proceeds of crime and international assistance panel (level B)
CPS panels: proceeds of crime (grade 4) and fraud, terrorism and serious crime (grade 3)
Scholarships & Awards
- 2017: Kalisher Trust, Internship at the City of London Police – Economic Crime Directorate
- 2011: The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, Major Scholarship
- 2007: Warwick School, Pyne Scholarship
Other Information
- Visiting lecturer at the University of Law
- 6-month internship in 2018 with the City of London Police, Economic Crime Directorate
- Experience of cases of high-value and complex fraud (of many different types), money laundering and bribery. First-hand insight into the investigation of such offences. Advising on large-scale e-disclosure, investigative strategy, restraint order applications and special procedure search warrants.
- Volunteer with the Young Citizens charity (mock trial competitions)
- Member of the Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA)
- Member of the Health & Safety Lawyers’ Association (HSLA)
- Member of the Birmingham Law Society
- Former member of the Institute of Licensing
- Member of the Selden Society
