Ellen Gallagher

Career

Before joining Vardags, Ellen was a key member of a highly ranked team at a major international law firm. She advises on various financial crime and regulatory matters, including issues relating to the UK’s anti-money laundering and anti-bribery & corruption regimes. Ellen defends clients in connection with allegations of offences and regulatory breaches such as market abuse, insider dealing, and fraud; she also represents individuals and corporates under investigation by HMRC.

Ellen has conducted both internal corporate and statutory investigations. She works closely with our in-house Financial Forensics team of chartered accountants to provide a seamless service to clients in cases in which highly specialised forensic accounting work is required. Her work frequently involves cross-border issues.

Examples include:

• Representing individuals in connection with high profile prosecutions by the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) for conspiracy to defraud US Dollar and Yen Libor.
• Acting in relation to investigations by authorities in numerous overseas jurisdictions, including the US Department of Justice and FBI, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
• Representing a pharmaceutical company responding to the UK Covid-19 public inquiry.
• Representing senior executives of major financial services institutions in connection with enforcement action by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) and Prudential Regulation Authority.
• Conducting a wide-ranging statutory investigation and producing a comprehensive independent report into the collapse of a Gibraltar insurance company pursuant to the appointment of statutory inspectors by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission.
• Representing individuals under investigation in connection with allegations of breaches of the UK anti-money laundering regime and advising both individuals and firms in connection with compliance with the regime.
• Advising individuals and firms responding to compelled information notices from the SFO and FCA, including those made in assistance of overseas authorities.
• Representing an individual in connection with the first non-financial misconduct enforcement action undertaken by Lloyd’s of London.

Publications

• Unfair trade: banker who took rap for Libor walks free
• City traders’ exoneration in Libor case proves the importance of jury trials
• Ellen’s Law360 article: Key Questions As Court Mulls Traders’ Libor Convictions
• Ellen’s Law360 article: Lessons from Landark UK Supreme Court Libor Ruling
• The rise of sextortion: meet the women at the high-end law firm helping London’s wealthy blackmail victims | The Standard
• Tougher anti-money laundering controls risk obstructing justice

Personal

Ellen previously lived and worked in the Netherlands and Singapore. She is a member of the Fraud Lawyers Association and the Women’s White Collar Defence Association. She provides commentary for major newspapers on financial crime issues and has appeared on Times Radio.

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