Ali is co-head of our global investigations and corporate crime practice in London.
With a record of acting on major cross-border and domestic investigations for clients in all sectors, she specialises in corporate and financial crime defence and regulatory enforcement actions, particularly defending actions brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), as well as other domestic agencies and overseas authorities.
Ali has significant expertise handling false accounting, fraud, bribery/corruption, money-laundering and terrorism-related matters. She has acted on many of the leading enforcement decisions brought by the FCA, especially in market abuse, market manipulation, disclosure and listing obligations cases and data/cyber cases. Ali regularly advises Boards and Senior Management on market disclosures, general risk advisory and governance matters.
Ali is recognised by all the major directories as a leading individual for global investigations, corporate and financial crime, and contentious financial services. She is ranked in Band 1 for Financial Crime: Corporates in Chambers, is ranked as a Band 1 Global Elite Thought Leader in Business Crime Defence and Investigations in Who’s Who Legal and is recognised in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame in 2023 for both Financial Services Contentious and Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime. The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2015 described Ali as ‘stubbornly confidential’ as she does not like to speak about the clients for whom she acts.
Ali is a sector group leader of Freshfields' London pro bono practice and acts as an ambassador and mentor in a number of the firm’s diversity networks including Social Mobility, Black Affinity, Stephen Lawrence and HALO. Ali has been a trustee of the RCJ and Islington Advice Bureau since 2005.
Given the nature of investigations and corporate crime, much of Ali’s work is strictly confidential. Her broad experience includes:
- Defending global organisations in co-ordinated criminal and regulatory proceedings, including landmark cases involving the resolution of false accounting by deferred prosecution agreement, as well as acting on follow-on or ancillary litigation.
- Advising leading financial services institutions and FTSE 100 companies in relation to regulatory action brought by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (including before its Regulatory Decisions Committee) and Financial Reporting Council.
- Defending enforcement actions particularly in relation to market abuse/manipulation- and financial crime-related matters.
- Advising major institutions in respect of bribery and corruption investigations in numerous overseas jurisdictions, including advising on corruption and money-laundering issues pursuant to various jurisdictions' laws.
- Advising global organisations in relation to fraud and anti-terrorism investigations and defending related criminal investigations.
- Advising international organisations on their fraud, anti-bribery and corruption and money-laundering policies.
100 Bishopsgate