Syam Soni

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“A top tier and very strong set which stables a great deal of talent that encompasses all areas of crime, fraud and regulatory work.”
Legal 500, 2022

Personal profile

Syam is a dedicated criminal defence specialist with a national practice and reputation for consistently delivering excellence. He has represented those accused of some of the most serious offences, as well as leading business professionals, CEOs and even nobility.

Principal areas of expertise include:

– Defence Crime: conspiracy to murder, multi-handed violence/disorder, serious sexual offences, weapons, multi-handed drugs conspiracies etc.

– Business Crime: multi-handed, multi-million Pound fraud, bribery, contested POCA proceedings etc.

– Inquests and Civil Litigation: experience in inquests, regulatory offences, commercial/contractual litigation with a focus on the overlap between civil and criminal fraud

Syam had a successful career in the banking industry prior to the Bar and brings experience of corporate/business awareness and practice to his instructions.

He also volunteered on Death Row in Houston, Texas.

Syam is multilingual – fluent in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi – and authorised to accept instructions from members of the public.

Serious Violence

Syam has been instructed in some of the most serious offences of violence that come before the criminal courts, both as a led junior and junior alone. He regularly appears in cases that attract national media attention.

Featured Cases:

Operation Carter (Newcastle CC, 2024): acquittal in multi-handed proceedings whereby Syam’s client was said to have assisted an offender following an attempted murder. The defendant was alleged to have been the ‘banker’ in a large-scale operation spanning the North-East and West Yorkshire, in which a firearm was said to have been discharged and then sold
Operation Elson (Lewes CC, 2024): represented man accused of a sustained assault that was originally contemplated to be an attempted murder, later charged as a wounding with intent. The nature of the injuries sustained was so horrific that the jury was excused from future service
Operation MM (Sheffield CC, 2024): represented man accused of several armed robberies committed at gunpoint, including attempting to run over multiple police officers during escape
R v H (Leeds CC, 2024): represented man accused, with another, of false imprisonment and a vicious assault with a firearm, machete and other weapons over 4 hours that amounted to serious torture. Secured acquittal upon s.18
R v N (Sheffield CC, 2024): instructed to represent man accused of a gunpoint kidnap and false imprisonment
R v C (Sheffield CC, 2024): instructed to represent man accused of pub shooting whereby the landlady was shot following discharge of a firearm said to be in retaliation
R v A (Leeds CC, 2024): represented man who, as part of a group, carried out a revenge attack at knifepoint that left the victim with life-altering injuries
R v S (Kingston CC, 2023): acquittal in serious aggravated burglary involving attack upon the home of a severely disabled man where the defendant’s DNA was found on the entry point (window)
R v M (Wolverhampton CC, 2023): s.18 where D was said to have stabbed the victim with a large, ‘rambo’ knife
Operation Settlement (Central Criminal Court, 2022): landmark case which drew national media attention and became known as the ‘James Bond’ murder plot. Led junior representing the 2nd Defendant upon a 14-count indictment alleging conspiracy to murder and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life
R v W & Another (Isleworth CC, 2022): acquittal in s.18 case involving life-changing injuries

Sexual Offences

Syam is regularly instructed to represent those accused of the most serious offences, including rape and sustained sexual violence.

His sensitive approach puts defendants and witnesses alike at ease, which allows him to elicit their best evidence.

Featured Cases:

Operation Doteridge (Leeds CC, 2024): international investigation involving INTERPOL and the Australian and USA authorities concerning the facilitation of the most serious sexual offending against children as young as 6 months. Instruction of multiple experts and liaison with authorities in Oklahoma, USA
R v W (Woolwich CC, 2024): secured acquittal following representations being made in case involving multiple allegations of predatory sexual offending against the defendant’s partner’s young daughter
R v G (Bradford CC, 2024): multiple rapes against woman with serious mental health vulnerabilities
R v B (Bradford CC, 2024): young man of good character accused of possessing nearly 100,000 indecent images of children with elements of distribution. Secured suspended sentence
R v M (Derby CC, 2024): represented man said to have engaged in campaign of offending against multiple females, including allegations of stalking, intimidation and ‘revenge pornography’
R v H (Bradford CC, 2024): instructed to represent man accused of ‘stranger rape’
R v M (Durham CC, 2023): represented man accused of 21 sexual offences, including 10 rapes, which had been filmed in graphic detail. Syam’s client was accused of perpetrating a campaign of serious sexual abuse and systemic violence against the victim, which was described as some of the worst the sentencing judge had ever encountered
R v C (York CC, 2022): acquittal in historic rape allegation despite the accused having made what were said to amount to confessions via text and in his interview
R v H (Bradford CC, 2022): acquittal where D was accused of possessing indecent images of children and extreme pornography
R v G (Leeds CC, 2022): defended man said to have been caught by online ‘paedophile hunters’. The prosecution offered no evidence in respect of the most serious allegation

Drugs Offences

Syam is experienced in representing those accused of industrial-scale drugs supply and conspiracies, including the importation of drugs from foreign jurisdictions.

Featured Cases:

Operation Gasket (Preston CC, 2024): defended in case alleging importation of vast quantities of drugs from the USA
Operation Waterloo (Lincoln CC, 2024): represented the 1st defendant of 25, said to be the leader of a Lincolnshire organised crime group involved in the supply of industrial quantities of multiple drugs, with connections to the Midlands and West Yorkshire
Operation Edithall (Leeds CC, 2024): instructed to represented one of 16 defendants in a substantial conspiracy involving supply of signficiant quantities of class A drugs
R v M (Stafford CC, 2024): represented man involved in conspiracy to supply over 81 kilograms of cocaine around the Black Country. There were said to have been over £3million worth of cash exchanges in furtherance of the conspiracy
R v V-T (Luton CC, 2024): instructed to represent man who conspired to import substantial quantities of class A drugs from South America
R v S (Bradford CC, 2024): acquittal in production capable of producing substantial quantities of cannabis, despite compelling telephonic and association evidence
R v L (Bradford CC, 2024): instructed to represent man in the large-scale production of cannabis. Careful case analysis resulted in the Prosecution having to review proceedings after targeted disclosure requests
R v R (Derby CC, 2024): multi-kilo, county-lines supply of class A drugs involving expert instruction to robustly challenge the Prosecution assertions of quantity
R v K (Birmingham CC, 2024): represented client involved in the supply of over 30kg of class A drugs
R v H (Leeds CC, 2024): instructed to represented man who, effectively, impersonated a pharmacist/dispenser and was said to have supplied large quantities of multiple drugs, some of which resulted in the death of a vulnerable purchaser
Operation Angora (Snaresbrook CC, 2023): multi-handed conspiracy to supply large quantities of class A drugs in/around London
Operation Millwright (Birmingham CC, 2023): multi-handed conspiracy to supply nearly 35kg of class A drugs worth millions of Pounds. Prosecuted by Leader of the Midland Circuit
Operation Maestro (Manchester Minshull Street CC, 2022): represented man who assisted in the importation of industrial quantities of class A and B drugs throughout Europe. The estimated street value of the combined drugs was £4.3 million

Business Crime & Fraud

Syam has substantial experience representing those accused of complex fraud and financial criminality.

He is often instructed to advise at the earliest stage of proceedings to determine the most efficient course of action so that, if charges are later brought, his clients have the benefit of thorough preparation.

Syam has significant experience of working with experts such as financial accountants and forensic investigators to secure the best results for his clients.

Featured Cases:

Operation Calcium (Shrewsbury CC, 2024): represented one of 8 defendants in proceedings brought by the Environment Agency. The case was widely reported in the national and local press given the substantial criminality involved, including falsification of financial and official documents and related regulatory offences
Operation Phantom (Bolton CC, 2024): succeeded in halving the benefit figure in complex POCA proceedings where the original criminality was said to have been worth close to £10,000,000
R v D (Birmingham CC, 2024): instructed to represent man in multi-million Pound POCA proceedings
Operation Nightjar II (Cardiff CC, 2023): led junior in multi-million Pound, multi-defendant money-laundering allegation arising out of the large-scale supply of class A drugs in and around Cardiff
Operation Millie (Leeds CC, 2023): represented man accused of money-laundering arising out of complex, multi-million Pound, multi-defendant fraud, prosecuted by Trading Standards
Operation Dublin (Teesside CC, 2023): led junior in a multi-handed conspiracy to defraud particularly elderly and vulnerable consumers worth hundreds of thousands of Pounds
Operation Birdseed (Basildon CC, 2022): represented man in document falsification fraud. Secured suspended sentence in circumstances where the risk of immediate custody was significant

Inquests & Inquiries

Syam’s sensitive and approachable nature are highly-prized in inquest proceedings, where he is instructed to represent interested persons.

Featured Cases:

Dorset Coroners’ Court (2024): instructed to represent husband of the deceased in sensitive proceedings whereby there had been a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR). Syam’s early intervention ensured that the ambit of proceedings was strictly focussed upon the statutory questions, resulting in the protection of his client’s reputation.