Stan Reiz KC
Barrister (Door Tenant) | Called 2001
Silk 2020 | Recorder 2018
Practice Summary
Stan Reiz KC is ranked as a leading criminal silk by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Doyle’s Guide. His practice comprises cases of the highest level of seriousness and complexity, including homicide, fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking and sexual offences.
His recent cases include: representing Axel Rudakubana in connection with the murder of three young girls in Southport; defending Niall Barry in the Ashley Dale murder; defending a man acquitted of murder committed on a London street, representing a man acquitted of murder following a group attack in a café; defending a man acquitted of murdering a cannabis ‘gardener’; acting for a man acquitted of the murder of a teenager following a collision between a car and two motorbikes; defending a military police officer acquitted of rape and sexual assault; representing an author acquitted of rape; successfully defending a former managing director of an investment bank on assault charges; securing a suspended sentence for a company director who pleaded guilty to a £93 million fraud; defending a woman accused of involvement in a $170 million international cryptocurrency money laundering arrangement; and successfully representing an interested party in confiscation proceedings associated with £20 million of cryptocurrency.
Stan’s expertise
Murder and Manslaughter
Stan Reiz KC defends clients accused of all varieties of homicide offences, including murder committed with firearms, bladed articles, fire and by strangulation. He is experienced in analysing crime scene and pathology evidence, as well psychiatric evidence in cases in which the defences of diminished responsibility and loss of control apply.
Notable Murder & Manslaughter Cases
R v M [2025]
5 defendants accused of murder of a man who was stabbed to death on a London street. M acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
R v Axel Rudakubana [2025]
Murder of three young girls and attempted murder of ten others at a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport. The defendant also admitted possessing a document likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism and production of a biological toxin (ricin).
R v S [2025]
5-month trial of eight defendants accused of participating in a murder with a firearm in West London.
R v DCB [2025]
High profile case of a man convicted after a re-trial of attempting to murder his partner by throwing her down a disused well on his country estate. The prosecution case was that he only failed to do so because she was able to overpower him at the well.
R v D [2024]
Murder of a man in a drugs den.
R v L [2024]
Defendant acquitted of the murder of his wife after trial on the basis of loss of control.
R v G (Cayman Islands) [2023]
Defendant acquitted for murder, manslaughter and wounding following a double stabbing in a bar in Grand Cayman.
R v Niall Barry [2023]
Murder of Ashley Dale who was shot in her own home with a Skorpion sub-machine gun. The prosecution unusually relied upon hearsay evidence from voice notes and messages from the deceased’s phone sent prior to her death which implicated the defendant in the killing and in a conspiracy to murder her boyfriend.
R v B [2023]
Stabbing murder during a domestic argument.
R v I [2023]
Stabbing murder of a man on his doorstep. The jury rejected the prosecution case that the defendant brought the knife to the scene resulting in a 10-year reduction to the sentence starting point.
R v N [2023]
Murder committed by a group armed with acid, machetes and bats in a revenge attack which occurred in a residential property on Halloween.
R v G [2023]
Defendant acquitted of murder, manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm after he drove his vehicle at more than double the speed limit in pursuit of 2 motorbikes carrying 5 teenagers and collided with them.
R v R [2023]
13 defendants charged with the murder of a ‘gardener’ at a cannabis factory during a robbery. M acquitted of murder following a 2 month trial.
R v W [2022]
Defendant acquitted of murder and manslaughter following a group attack on an 18-year-old male in an internet café.
R v J [2022]
Attempted murder of a man and a 15-year-old girl following a shooting at a bus stop. Defendant acquitted of the attempted murder of the girl following a ruling by the judge that the principle of transferred malice did not apply to inchoate offences.
R v M [2022]
Stabbing murder by a 15-year-old boy against whom drill music lyrics were relied upon.
R v T [2022]
Defendant acquitted of murder and 2 counts of conspiracy to cause GBH after a 16-year-old boy was killed on what was alleged to have been a ‘ride out’ involving eight males carrying zombie knives. Gang evidence was relied upon in support of the motive for the murder.
R v C [2022]
Murder with a shotgun of a man in a taxi in an alleged revenge attack arising from a kidnapping.
R v G [2022]
Murder of a 16-year-old boy in a group attack.
R v B [2022]
Defendant acquitted of murder and conspiracy to cause GBH following a 4-month trial of nine defendants.
R v M [2021]
Defendant acquitted of the murder with a firearm of a property developer following a 4-month trial.
R v T [2021]
Hospital order imposed for the alleged murder of a patient at a care home after successfully demonstrating the defendant was unfit to plead notwithstanding expert evidence to the contrary called by the prosecution.
Fraud
Stan Reiz KC’s practice includes defending in a wide spectrum of financial crime cases including:
-
- Money laundering utilising cryptocurrency trades
- Breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations
- Mis-selling of investments
Bribery
-
- Offences under the Financial Services Act 2012
- Large scale commercial and residential mortgage fraud
- Tax fraud by corporate bodies and individuals
He has represented defendants prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office, the Financial Conduct Authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills
Notable Fraud and Money Laundering Cases
R v S [2024]
International money laundering arrangement involving an alleged $170 million in cryptocurrency trades executed in the UK, UAE, Ukraine and Iran.
Royal Mail v M [2024]
Company director received suspended sentence following guilty plea to £93 million fraud committed over a 9-year period using a network of companies offering postal services to businesses by mail consolidation.
R v S [2022]
Head of an organised crime group accused of conspiring to evade millions of pounds in duty on tobacco by smuggling cigarettes into the UK using a legitimate food importation business as a cover.
R v C [2021]
High profile case of doctor sentenced to 3 years 4 months custody following guilty plea to £1.1 million breach of trust theft from a healthcare company he was a director of. Following early legal advice, confiscation proceedings were avoided as he succeeded in recovering the stolen funds from gambling companies.
R v X [2020]
High net worth property developer acquitted of Cheating the Public Revenue out of millions of pounds in income and capital gains tax.
Organised and Serious Crime
Stan Reiz KC regularly acts for defendants accused of offences connected to serious organised crime such as large-scale conspiracies to import controlled drugs and firearms.
Notable Organised Crime Cases
R v W [2024]
Head of organised crime group involved in the importation of approximately one tonne of class A drugs and firearms.
R v D
Conspiracy to supply 100kgs of class A drugs.
R v G [2021]
Large scale Encrochat utilising conspiracy to supply class A drugs over a 3-year period.
Serious Sexual Offences
Stan Reiz KC has represented clients in cases involving all categories of sexual offences including rape, sexual assault, online offences involving children and making indecent images.
Notable Serious Sexual Offences Cases
R v S [2025]
Successfully defended a Royal Military Police Officer who was acquitted of rape and sexual assault by a Court Martial.
R v D [2025]
Successfully represented a man acquitted of two counts of rape. The prosecution offered no evidence after cross-examination of the complainant.
R v L [2024]
Successfully defended a man acquitted of the rape of his friend at his 21st birthday party.
R v H [2024]
Successfully defended author accused of rape. The prosecution offered no evidence after cross-examination of the complainant.
R v D [2023]
Defendant acquitted of raping a woman after a series of investigatory failures by the police were highlighted during cross-examination.
Appeals
Stan Reiz KC has considerable experience in appearing before the Court of Appeal in both conviction and sentence appeals, including responding to references by the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General.
Notable appeals cases
R v Gray [2022] EWCA Crim 1095
Successful appeal against sentence for the former Head of Finance at an international digital media company following his guilty plea to fraud. The appeal concerned the correct approach to calculating the value of a fraud for sentencing purposes.
R v Haque (Mohammed) [2020] 1 Cr App R 12; [2020] WLR (D) 49
Instructed for an Appellant who had been convicted of Acquiring Criminal Property. The Court of Appeal accepted that the prosecution had erred and as a matter of law, charged the wrong offence. Consequently, they had no choice but to quash the conviction. The prosecution’s application for a re-trial was also refused.
R v Akhtar [2018] EWCA Crim 378
Successful appeal against sentence for a mortgage broker convicted of mortgage fraud.
Attorney General’s Reference, R v Parish & Redford [2017] EWCA 2064 (Crim) 2017 WL 06372088
Sentence for conspiracy to transfer 5 firearms and ammunition increased from 5 years to 7 years and 4 months, but Court rejected submission on behalf of A-G that the sentence should be increased further as full credit for plea should not have been allowed.
R v Ogden & Others [2016] 1 Cr.App.R. 29
Appeal against conviction relating to the meaning of “converting criminal property”. Represented 4 appellants. Successful appeal against sentence.
R v Loveridge [2014] EWCA Crim 1209
Successful appeal against sentence in relation to a conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
R v Stewart [2013]
Successful appeal against sentence for drugs and firearms offences.
R v Jabbar [2013] EWCA Crim 801
Appeal against conviction for murder based on the admission of hearsay evidence.
R v CB [2012]
Prosecution appeal of a terminatory ruling following a successful submission of no case to answer for the appellant in a high-profile trial of 10 defendants accused of arson to Apex Corner on the M1 motorway.
Confiscation
Stan Reiz KC has advised and represented clients facing applications for multi-million pound confiscation orders. He has successfully argued disproportionality based on R v Waya principles resulting in significant reductions to the amounts of the confiscation orders made against his clients.
Mr Reiz has also, with the assistance of expert forensic accountants, secured considerable reductions to Prosecution calculations for both benefit and available amount in complex proceedings involving corporate bodies and individuals with extensive assets.
Notable confiscation cases
R v A [2023]
Successfully represented an interested party in confiscation proceedings against her husband following his conviction for conspiracy to produce anabolic steroids. The disputed assets concerned approximately £20 million held in cryptocurrency and properties.
FCA v M [2019]
Complex confiscation proceedings arising from the prosecution of a company director under the Financial Services Act 2012.
Recent Directory Quotes
“He was phenomenal. He is really great with legal arguments and great with juries. He is super smart.” Chambers & Partners 2026 Crime
“Stan is the best up-and-coming silk. He handles high-profile cases and is exceptional in his advocacy.” Chambers & Partners 2026 Crime
“Stan is very calm and composed. He has very sound judgement and is highly respected across the field.” Chambers & Partners 2026 Financial Crime
“Stan grabs your attention in the courtroom. His voice and persuasiveness together are what sets him apart.” Chambers & Partners 2026 Financial Crime
“A go-to counsel for serious fraud and financial crime cases.” Legal 500 2026 Financial Crime
“Stan’s advocacy in the higher courts and appeal courts is superb. He has an answer for everything.” Chambers & Partners 2025 Financial Crime
“Stan goes from strength to strength, rapidly becoming one of the standout performers at the Bar. He has exceptional ability and an easy courtroom manner.” Chambers & Partners 2025 Financial Crime
“He is an excellent advocate, who has a fantastic voice and a command of the courtroom.” Chambers & Partners 2025 Financial Crime
“Stan is a very versatile practitioner and thinks outside the box. He is very reassuring to vulnerable clients and is a flawless jury advocate.” Chambers & Partners 2025 Crime
“A methodical and outstanding jury advocate. His legal arguments are well considered and he is tactically astute. He frequently obtains outstanding results for clients and he has a wonderful manner with them.” Legal 500 2025 Fraud
“Stan oozes calm confidence and has a painstaking attention to detail.” Legal 500 2025 Crime
“Clients are assured by his measured demeanour and his guidance and explanations which make the most complex legal issues understandable by all.” Legal 500 2025 Crime