Hong Kong, 29 September 2025: Acclaimed financial crime specialist Ian Winter KC has been confirmed to deliver the seventh annual HKU-Boase Cohen & Collins Criminal Law Lecture. His talk – entitled “Conspiracy to Defraud: Deceased or Only Wounded?” – will be given at the University of Hong Kong on Friday 14 November, starting at 7:00pm.
“We are thrilled that Ian has accepted our invitation to deliver this year’s Criminal Law Lecture. Given his immense standing in the legal world, we are confident his talk will be a compelling event for law students, a large cross-section of the legal profession and the general public,” says BC&C Managing Partner Alex Liu.
The lecture, to be held in the Philip KH Wong Theatre at HKU’s Pokfulam campus, is free of charge and open to all. Anyone wishing to attend should register here. Two evenings before the lecture, Ian will conduct a “fireside chat” with BC&C Senior Partner Colin Cohen before a small audience during a private dinner at the China Club.
In his lecture, Ian will examine the UK Supreme Court’s recent landmark judgment in Hayes & Palombo, in which two former City of London traders had their convictions for “rate-rigging” – the term for manipulating the interest rates used for loans between banks – overturned after a decade-long legal battle.
Looking forward to the HKU event, Ian says: “I’m honoured to be following in the footsteps of some highly esteemed speakers in being asked to deliver this year’s lecture. In considering the Hayes & Palombo judgment, I will explore reasons behind the ruling, repercussions for the banking industry and recent developments in the law in Hong Kong. I hope the audience will find it interesting and helpful.”
A member of Cloth Fair Chambers in London, Ian is firmly established as one of the leading silks at the Bar – a focused, highly sought-after criminal specialist with a particular emphasis on fraud and financial crime. Recently nominated for the Legal 500 Financial Crime Silk of the Year, he is regularly instructed to represent companies and individuals involved in cases brought across numerous jurisdictions. He regularly appears in Hong Kong and has appeared in many of the leading cases over the last 15 years.
The first four editions of the Criminal Law Lecture were delivered by KCs Clare Montgomery, Edward Fitzgerald CBE, Geoffrey Robertson and the former Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Ken Macdonald. The most recent speakers were Hong Kong’s former Chief Justice, the Honourable Geoffrey Ma, and former Justice of Appeal Ian McWalters.
