Anita is highly approachable and ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 & Asset Forfeiture work where she is described as ‘a fantastic rising star who is knowledgeable and reassuring in the delivery of her advice’. Anita defends and prosecutes across the range of Chambers’ practice areas and has experience in civil proceeds of crime matters.
Alongside her general crime practice, Anita has a strong financial crime interest and advises on anti-money laundering investigations and regulatory requirements, suspicious activity reporting and account freezing. She also advises on the United Kingdom’s financial sanctions regime. Registered as a Part 2 legal practitioner in the Dubai International Financial Centre Court, she is part of the legal team behind a significant claim in that court.
Instructed by the Council of Europe, she has undertaken anti-money laundering and anti-corruption projects in Georgia, Moldova, Czech Republic and Serbia. She has also contributed to anti-corruption workshops in Kenya and Zambia with the African Union.
Originally from Australia, Anita qualified after a year as a Judge’s Associate in the Supreme Court of Queensland. She was a solicitor from 2011 in private and government practice, with her early years spent at a prominent criminal and human rights firm defending vulnerable clients and gaining exposure to death in custody inquests.
Anita is a contributor to the Lloyd’s Law Reports: Financial Crime and co-author of a book on the Criminal Finances Act 2017 with Jonathan Fisher QC. She has been appointed to the Legal Advisory Panel of an NGO, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN).
Anita defends and prosecutes general crime cases and is a Level 2 CPS Panel Advocate. She is well placed to deal with vulnerable defendants and witnesses. She also has experience with private prosecutions, having previously been a senior associate at private prosecution firm in London.
General crime
Fraud and Proceeds of Crime 2002 (POCA)
Anita has appeared on civil and criminal cases involving allegations of fraud and money laundering. She is currently instructed on a high profile judicial review leave application with underlying POCA issues. She has advised on a wide range of POCA issues, including on high value and sensitive matters led by Jonathan Fisher QC.
Financial regulatory
Anti-Money Laundering for the Professional Expert, 28 September 2021, Academy of Experts, guest speaker.
Unexplained Wealth Orders: Where to Next? 11 December 2020, Royal United Services Institute, panellist.
Criminal Finances Act 2017, book of legal commentary published by Informa Law, 2018, co-author with Jonathan Fisher QC.
Case Note: Menci & Garlsson Real Estate SA and Others v. Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob) & Joined Cases Di Puma v. Consob and Consob v. Zecca (CJEU), International Legal Materials, 2018, 57(4), 583-615, author.
Corporate Criminal Liability in the Supply Chain: A Coherent Divergence? Crim. L.R. 2018 8, 633-645, co-author.
2015 – Master of Laws, London School of Economics (Distinction)
2009 – BA / LLB, University of Queensland (First Class Honours)
South Eastern Circuit
Criminal Bar Association
Proceeds of Crime Lawyers’ Association
2014 – Lionel Murphy Scholar
2007-9 – Commonwealth Country and Regional Students Tertiary Scholarship