Ali Zaidi is a partner and Head of Litigation and Restructuring & Insolvency and specialises in insolvency, reconstruction and fraud-related cases.
His practice includes asset tracing abroad, pursuing and defending claims of misfeasance by directors, conducting and defending Insolvency Act examinations, advising on asset avoidance schemes, pursuing directors personally for fraud and deceit, and defending directors in disqualification proceedings.
Ali has worked on several high-profile insolvency cases including a multi-million pound bankruptcy and corporate Ponzi frauds.
He also has extensive experience of commercial litigation matters ranging from fraud investigations to partnership and shareholder disputes.
He is a past member of the Disciplinary and Regulatory Committee of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He regularly lectures to groups of Insolvency Practitioners and Chartered Accountants and is a past Law Society Committee Member.
- Acting for the Trustee in the bankruptcy of three debtors who together operated an illegal pyramid scheme called Planline. The matter involved undertaking detailed examinations of numerous antecedent transactions to place assets out of reach of creditors, pursuing investigations to recover assets in Italy, the Baltics and Switzerland and working closely with the Financial Services Authority (FSA – now the FCA) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
- Acting for the Liquidators of a multimillion pound land banking scheme, which misled investors about the true investment value and the expectation of future development of the sites. This matter involves hundreds of creditors in which the Liquidators are seeking to recover several million pounds and is being pursued in close co-operation with the FCA.
- Acting for office holders in the Administration followed by Liquidation of a currency exchange company where allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful trading are being investigated against the former directors. In addition, various trust claims regarding the deposit of foreign currencies and the operation of various bank accounts are being investigated possibly culminating in claims against the Company’s former bankers.
Expertise
Administrations and Receiverships
Civil Fraud
Confiscation and Restraint Proceedings
Director Disqualification Proceedings
Individual and Company Voluntary Arrangements
LPA Receiverships
Restructuring processes
Credentials
Ranked in Chambers UK 2024
Recommended in The Legal 500 UK 2024
Former Chairman of the London Executive Committee of a charity called Mosaic, part of the Princes Trust
Ali's Blogs
Blog - 06/08/2024
What every accountant needs to know when advi...
Restructuring & Insolvency
Blog - 01/03/2021
Furlough and Bounce Back Loan abuse; HMRC to ...
Employment
Blog - 10/12/2020
Moratorium on forfeiture of business leases e...
Property Litigation
Blog - 20/10/2020
More on enforcement after Bresco
Construction
