Daniel Lawrence’s heart raced as Michael Devlin cross-examined Richard Dove, the final and most damaging witness in the case against their client.
Nathan Campbell – the man Daniel and Michael were there to defend – stood accused of a financial fraud that had wiped billions off the stock market value of The Costins Group, an investment bank that had employed him as a derivatives broker.
Richard Dove had been his immediate superior. The man who – according to the prosecution case – Campbell had directly deceived in the course of his crimes.
This was Dove’s opportunity for payback. To tell the world of Campbell’s guilt. And it was his chance to publicly repair any damage caused by his own proximity to Campbell’s acts.
So far he had made the most of both.
Daniel’s notes recorded every question that Michael had asked in the past thirty minutes. He knew that his friend was doing everything he could. The charismatic barrister always did.
Their only chance of success – the only chance Nathan Campbell had of leaving the court a free man – was for Michael to undermine Dove’s evidence. To find and expose any lies the man was telling. Any prejudices he had.
But Daniel was not naive. He had been around long enough to know how the public react to bankers who take risks with other people’s money. He and Michael understood the common belief that it was men like this – men like Nathan Campbell – who cause the recessions that only seem to hit everyday men and women. And so Daniel knew that for Nathan Campbell to be acquitted, his barrister would first have to overcome that natural prejudice.
It was no surprise that the jury already hated the man now sitting in the dock. They had heard the prosecuting barrister’s opening speech. It told a damaging tale. A tale of an arrogant man who had played with hundreds of millions of pounds as if it were Monopoly money. Who had used the bank’s funds – the savings and investments of the bank’s customers – to take increasingly large gambles on the performance of foreign markets. And who had dishonestly used his bank’s ‘error accounts’, designed to protect its customers from unexpected loss, to cover his own massive failings.
The speech had ended with several jurors staring at Campbell with something close to hate in their eyes. Daniel had expected no less. It was only natural that some would take this kind of crime personally. Savers and investors the world over had been hit by what they saw as the risk-taking of men like Campbell. In all likelihood, at least some of his jurors would have suffered.
But worse had followed. As damaging as the opening speech had been, every trial rests upon the evidence that can be called, and upon the testimony of the witnesses. So far those witnesses had played their parts to perfection, each proving beyond any doubt – reasonable or otherwise – that Nathan Campbell had done exactly what the prosecution said.
It was a frustrating experience for Daniel. To watch witness after witness hammering nails into Campbell’s defence. But it was also inevitable, because Campbell had already told Daniel – and Michael – that every fact being alleged was true.
London’s Central Criminal Court – known worldwide as the Old Bailey – had been extended many times over the years. New courtrooms added, old ones renovated. Court Two, though, was one of the originals. A cavernous, wood-panelled temple.
Both judge and defendant were elevated, facing one another across the centre of the room. They sat above the jury and witness box on one side, and the full set of lawyers on the other. It was a set-up that gave Daniel a clear view of the jurors as they listened to the evidence.
And from where he sat, their belief in Campbell’s guilt was unmistakable.
This was the prejudice Campbell faced as the final prosecution witness, Richard Dove, was called. Daniel knew that even Michael would struggle to overcome it.
He also knew that Michael would not try to do so.
Convention dictates that the barrister asks the questions in court. A solicitor’s job is more understated. More legwork. Less glory. But this did not mean that Daniel had no hand in the preparation of Campbell’s defence. He and Michael had discussed every tactical move and they agreed on at least two things: that any attempt to deny what Nathan Campbell had done would be disastrous. And that, in any event, Campbell was not really what this case was about.
Michael had begun his questions carefully. He spoke with camaraderie. An old lawyer’s trick, Daniel knew. Befriend the witness. Be amicable. Be understanding. Wait for his guard to slip.
It was always more effective than starting with confrontation. And so it had proved. Michael had scored point after point. Gently encouraging Dove to admit that he had not been fond of Campbell. That Campbell’s working-class Birmingham background had not – in Dove’s opinion – justified his position within such a prestigious bank. And that he had, throughout Campbell’s career, done much to undermine him with their superiors.
These were small successes. They weakened Dove’s credibility. But in the face of the rest of the evidence – evidence that Campbell admitted to be true – they were nowhere near enough.
Daniel knew this. He knew that point-scoring did not lessen the impact of the prosecution case. If anything, it looked like clever lawyers playing clever games because they had nothing else. Michael had to go further, Daniel realised. He had to attack.
It was a dangerous tactic. An all-or-nothing gamble. It was also Nathan Campbell’s one shot at freedom.
‘OK, Mr Dove, let’s put your personal dislike for Mr Campbell to one side for a moment, shall we? Because there’s something else I want to ask you about.’
Michael’s Irish brogue became more pronounced as he spoke. It was a nervous tic Daniel had noticed before. Always there when Michael’s questions took a more dangerous turn.
‘Fire away.’
Dove seemed confident. As if Michael’s questions up to now had achieved nothing. Which suggested to Daniel that the man was not as bright as he seemed to think.
‘I will, Mr Dove.’ Michael smiled as he spoke, his tone sarcastic. ‘But thank you for the permission.’
Dove looked confused. Perhaps wondering where Michael’s matey approach had gone.
Michael continued.
‘What I want to ask you is this. You’ve told us that your role was as Mr Campbell’s immediate superior, correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘And of course we know you didn’t think he was even remotely up to the job that he had been given?’
‘I thought we were moving away from the fact that I disliked him?’
‘Oh, we have. But it’s your professional opinion we’re discussing. I’m sure you see the difference, don’t you?’
‘Of course I see the difference.’
Daniel smiled. Michael was already getting to him. Exactly as they had known he must.
‘And we’re agreed that you thought he was pretty much incompetent, right?’
‘Right.’
‘Then would you mind telling me, Mr Dove, why it was that you allowed Mr Campbell – the incompetent Mr Campbell – to settle his own trades?’
‘What? Why does that matter?’
‘Do I really have to explain this to you, Mr Dove? Because Mr Campbell knows why it matters, and he’s apparently incompetent. So surely you know?’
‘Of course I know.’
‘Well then, perhaps you can help the jury to know as well. Because it’s right, is it not, that a trader such as Mr Campbell would usually have his trades settled by another member of the team?’
‘Team?’
‘You know what I mean, Mr Dove. By another trader on your floor. It’s a failsafe, isn’t it? It means that if a trader has involved himself in a bad transaction – in something where there has been a loss – then it can’t be hidden. Because the other trader, the one who has to settle the trade, knows about it. That’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? It’s peer supervision.’
‘That’s right.’
‘But for some reason Mr Campbell was allowed to sign off on his own trades, wasn’t he?’
‘You’re making it sound like there’s something sinister in that.’
‘That’s your opinion, Mr Dove. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just getting to the truth. So please tell us, is it right that Mr Campbell was permitted to sign off on his own trades?’
Dove hesitated.
‘Mr Dove?’
No response.
‘Mr Dove, please answer the question.’
The intervention came from His Honour Judge Peter Kennedy QC, one of the most senior judges in the Central Criminal Court.
It had the desired effect.
‘Yes,’ Dove finally answered. ‘Campbell settled his own trades.’
Michael continued without missing a beat.
‘And can you confirm that this was in fact highly unusual, Mr Dove?’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Exactly what it sounds like. It was highly unusual – for reasons that must be wholly obvious from what we have discussed so far – that Mr Campbell was permitted to settle his own trades. That’s right, isn’t it?’
‘It wasn’t “highly unusual”, no.’
‘It wasn’t?’
‘No.’
‘OK. Then please tell me, Mr Dove. How many traders are employed under you at Costins?’
‘How many?’
‘Directly under you, yes. How many?’
‘I . . . I can’t really remember without—’
‘Without looking at the company records. Well, I have them right here, Mr Dove. Shall we take a look?’
‘I don’t need to take a look.’
‘I’m sorry, your voice dropped there. Could you repeat that?’
‘I said I don’t need to take a look!’
This time there was no chance the answer would be missed. It was almost shouted.
Daniel smiled. The plan was working. Dove was rattled.
Michael continued.
‘So you remember how many it is now?’
‘Yes.’
‘And?’
‘It’s fifty-six. Give or take.’
‘Actually, it’s fifty-six exactly, isn’t it, Mr Dove? At least according to your records?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’s a fairly specific number for you to not remember without your records, and then to suddenly remember five seconds later, isn’t it?’
‘My lord, Mr Devlin is veering very much into the realm of comment with questions like that.’ The prosecuting barrister had risen to her feet. ‘Can he be reminded to keep points of this kind for his closing speech?’
‘You’ve heard what’s been said, Mr Devlin. Make sure your questions are just that, please.’
‘My lord.’
Michael did not look away from Dove as he responded. Nor did he hesitate before moving to his next question.
‘So, fifty-six traders. Now tell me, Mr Dove, how many of those fifty-six traders working under you are permitted to settle their own trades?’
No response.
‘Mr Dove, I’m going to ask you that question again. Perhaps this time you will have the good grace to answer it. So, bearing in mind that I have your company records right here beside me, please tell me how many traders currently working under you are permitted to settle their own trades?’
‘None.’
The answer was almost spat out.
‘And how many when Mr Campbell was working under you? Again bearing in mind that we have the records right here?’
‘Just him.’
Daniel’s smile widened. He had to keep his head facing his notebook to hide it from the jury.
This is working, he thought. Michael’s got him.
‘So, back then, Mr Campbell was the only trader permitted to settle his own trades. And, right now, no one has that power. And yet you’re asking this jury to believe that such freedom wasn’t “highly unusual”? That’s just a lie, isn’t it, Mr Dove?’
‘Why would I lie?’ Dove exploded in anger. ‘What have I got to lie about? Your client’s the criminal. Your client’s the one who was losing hundreds of millions of the bank’s money and then hiding it. What have I got to lie about?’
‘Perhaps we’ll find out.’ Michael’s reply was completely calm. ‘But, before we do, who would have been empowered to allow Mr Campbell to settle his own trades? Who could make that happen?’
No response. Dove was now glaring at Michael.
‘Are you not going to answer, Mr Dove?’
No response.
‘Is it because the answer is you?’
No response.
‘Because that’s right, isn’t it? The fact is that you – as Mr Campbell’s immediate superior, as the man responsible for him and for everyone else on your floor – you would have had to authorise a working practice that allowed Mr Campbell, as a trader, to sign off on his own trades. To effectively become his own supervisor. That’s correct, isn’t it?’
No response.
‘Mr Dove, you will answer the question.’ Judge Kennedy again.
Dove looked up at the judge, to whom he directed his answer.
‘Yes, your honour. I would have to authorise that.’
‘And you did, didn’t you?’ Michael was relentless.
Dove looked back towards the barrister before answering.
‘Yes. Yes I did.’
‘Can you please explain why? Why such unusual treatment was given to this particular person.’
‘Because he was successful,’ Dove replied. ‘He was making more money than half of the rest of the floor combined. So when he asked for that freedom I thought it would speed him up. That it would make even more money for my section.’
‘But, Mr Dove, you’ve already told us at length that Mr Campbell wasn’t up to the job. You didn’t think he even deserved his place on your floor. But now suddenly he’s your best trader?’
‘I didn’t say he was my best.’ Dove seemed to be floundering. ‘I said he was the most successful. There are many reasons that could be.’
‘Yes, there are. But the only one of them that doesn’t justify even greater supervision than usual is that he was the best, isn’t it? Because if he isn’t the best but he’s still getting results above and beyond everyone else, then there’s probably something dodgy going on, isn’t there?’
‘Well we know something dodgy was going on, don’t we?’
The anger was back. Dove seemed to have chosen his battle. A battle Daniel could not wait to see.
Dove continued.
‘That’s why we’re here. Because he was up to no good.’
Michael smiled. When he spoke his voice was gentle.
‘Mr Dove, if an incompetent trader was doing so well you would have assumed that he was either lying about his success, or that he was achieving it through dishonest means, wouldn’t you?’
No response.
‘And in either case you would have increased your supervision over Mr Campbell, wouldn’t you?’
No response.
‘And yet what you actually did was exempt him from even the standard supervision that applied to all other traders. You gave him free rein to do exactly as he pleased. Why is that, Mr Dove? Why did you do that?’
Once again there was no response. This time Michael allowed the silence to settle.
Daniel looked at the jury. They seemed confused. Baffled by where Michael had taken Dove’s evidence. Questions seemed to be forming in their previously certain minds. It made Daniel smile again. But not over what had happened so far.
No. Daniel was smiling because of what he knew was coming next.
‘Is there a reason you’ve stopped answering my questions?’
Michael’s voice was still gentle, and all the more disconcerting because of it. He continued.
‘Are you refusing to answer because you’ve been lying?’
It was a red flag to a bull.
‘I’ve already told you, I’ve got bugger all to lie about. What have I lied about, eh? Go on. Tell me.’
‘The same thing you’ve been lying about for a long, long time.’ Michael’s voice was beginning to rise. ‘Because you didn’t sign off on Mr Campbell settling his own trades, did you?’
‘What?’ Dove seemed taken aback.
‘You didn’t sign off on that because it never happened. Mr Campbell never did settle his own trades, did he? He never was free of the supervision that applied to everyone else. Because he had someone else settling his trades throughout the entire period that he was supposedly hiding his actions from the bank. And that someone was you, wasn’t it?’
Daniel watched as the jury registered the question. They were hooked.
‘What sort of absolute bullshit are you trying to peddle?’
Dove’s response was angry. It was also immediate. Far too fast if Michael’s suggestion was something he had not heard before. Far too fast if what was being put to him was untrue.
‘Answer the question, Mr Dove. Did you act as Mr Campbell’s supervisor on the transactions that have brought him to court today? Did you take on the role of settling his trades?’
‘Of course I bloody didn’t.’
Dove’s anger seemed to be gone. It was as if they were now on ground he had prepared for. It was the wrong impression to give, but he carried on.
‘Look at the records you’ve got there. Every single one of the trades are recorded as having been signed off by Nathan himself.’
‘Oh, I know that,’ Michael replied. ‘But that’s fairly meaningless, isn’t it, Mr Dove. Because as his immediate superior you could have appointed yourself to the role, and you could have easily signed off as Mr Campbell without him being any the wiser. Because the only person who would be looking at the trades across your floor – from everyone, not just Mr Campbell – was you, wasn’t it?’
‘Oh, I get it.’
Dove’s voice was now arrogant. Daniel could tell that he had been prepared for these last few questions. But he doubted that Dove would be prepared for the next ones.
Dove continued.
‘You’ve sat down and worked out the only way that Nathan could have been overseen without that being recorded. Very clever. But it doesn’t really help you though, does it? Because Nathan did carry out the trades. He did use the error account to hide his losses. And he did lose hundreds of millions of bloody pounds. So even if I were settling his trades – and I wasn’t – it doesn’t make him innocent, does it?’
‘It does if he was making the trades under the orders of his boss,’ Michael replied.
‘That’s another comment.’ The prosecutor was rising to her feet again.
‘I’m moving on,’ Michael responded, before the judge could intervene.
He turned back to Dove.
‘Mr Dove, it is correct, isn’t it, that Nathan Campbell made each and every trade for which he is being tried under your direct supervision and guidance, and that every trade made was made upon your order?’
‘You’ve got to be joking.’
‘And isn’t it true that throughout that period, at least as far as Nathan Campbell was aware, you were settling his trades in accordance with good practice?’
‘This is pathetic. It really is pathetic.’
‘And isn’t it true that, having told Nathan Campbell that you were settling his trades, you manipulated the records to which you had access and presented the settlements as if it were Nathan Campbell settling his own trades?’
‘Desperate,’ Dove replied. ‘Absolutely desperate.’
‘So are you denying what I’ve asked?’
‘Of course I’m bloody denying it! Behind the trades? Ordering Campbell to make them? What do you take me for? I’m good at my job. No one with an ounce of expertise or experience would have made those trades. Guaranteed losers, every one of them. So this little conspiracy you’ve put together, why would I do it? Why would I have involved myself in something that was bound to fail?’
It was a good question. And exactly the one Daniel had hoped Dove would ask.
As ever, Michael did not miss a beat.
‘You’ve been with Costins for what, eighteen years?’
‘Why are you changing the subject? Come on, tell me what I had to gain from that picture you’ve painted.’
‘Answer the question, Mr Dove.’
‘Not until you answer mine.’
‘That is not how this works.’ The judge sounded impatient. ‘Mr Devlin asks the questions, Mr Dove. And you answer them. So please do that.’
Dove looked at His Honour Judge Kennedy QC, his irritation obvious. Still, he did as ordered.
‘Yes, eighteen years.’
‘For which you have been paid a very, very respectable salary.’
‘No more than I’m worth.’
‘Heaven forbid.’ Michael’s response raised a laugh from the jury. ‘But still, your salary is, by most standards, a very high one.’
‘I suppose that it is.’
‘Thank you. It is also correct, is it not, that you are paid an annual bonus.’
‘Yes.’
‘A bonus that is never less than six figures?’
‘So what?’
‘Never less than six figures?’
‘No. Never.’
‘And one which, in addition, always includes shares in Costins itself.’
‘That’s correct.’
‘Every year for eighteen years.’
‘Yes.’
‘Tell me, how many shares in Costins did you own on the day that Mr Campbell’s disastrous trades came to light?’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘The shares, Mr Dove. The ones that had been building up every year for eighteen years. You must have had quite a few in your possession by that time. How many?’
Michael pointedly tapped a file next to him as he spoke. A clear message that he had the answer right there beside him.
From what Daniel could see, Dove got the message.
‘None.’
‘I’m sorry, Mr Dove. Your voice has gone all quiet again. Did you say none?’
‘Yes. None.’
‘Well that’s a surprise. Because Costins was doing very well, wasn’t it? Or at least it seemed to be. It must have been very irritating to know that but to have none of your shares left.’
No response.
‘And, out of interest, Mr Dove. When did you sell your shares?’
Michael tapped the file again. The same message.
‘The previous month.’
‘The previous month?’
Michael sounded amazed. The part of the act that always amused Daniel most.
‘Yes.’
‘What, all of them? At once? Or had you been selling them off over the years, a bit here and a bit there? Which was it?’
‘All of them at once.’
Daniel shook his head. It was a pleasure to see Dove so uncomfortable – so helpless – as he reached the questions he had not expected.
‘So by some stroke of luck, you sold all of your shares when the market was at its highest, just a month before Nathan Campbell’s trades almost destroyed the bank?’
Dove did not respond immediately. And nor did the prosecuting barrister rise to her feet, despite the fact that Michael’s last question broke all the rules.
It seemed that everyone was stunned by the turn the case had taken. Everyone but Daniel and Michael.
It was an outcome more common than it should be. Something Daniel knew all too well. When the police are presented with a clear-cut case – all the evidence wrapped up in a nice neat package and pointing at an obvious offender – often they don’t think it’s necessary to look any further. Human nature is human nature, after all, and so the prosecution tend to pursue the obvious suspect, even when just a little digging – a little legwork – would point to the real culprit. And so that legwork was left to Daniel.
It had not taken long for him to uncover the truth behind Campbell’s account. And now Michael would reap the benefits.
Michael opened the file that had threatened Dove and removed a single sheet of paper.
‘Mr Dove, have you ever heard of a company called Red Corner Inc., registered to the Cayman Islands?’
Dove did not respond. But this time he did not need to. The speed with which the colour drained from his cheeks said enough.
Michael continued.
‘Red Corner Inc. is the company which purchased over ten million shares in Costins on the day after Mr Campbell’s losses were revealed. Were you aware of that, Mr Dove?’
No response.
‘And they did so for just a quarter of what you were paid by another buyer for your five hundred thousand shares, less than a month before. Were you aware of that, Mr Dove?’
No response.
‘And, of course, since the apprehension and prosecution of Mr Campbell, and the revelation that the bank will survive this little “blip”, the Costins share price has risen again, with those ten million shares now being worth ten times what Red Corner paid for them. Were you aware of that, Mr Dove?’
No response.
Michael fluttered the sheet of paper in the air as he continued.
‘OK, let’s try some questions that you must know the answer to, shall we? Can you tell me, Mr Dove, the name of the man who set up Red Corner Inc. in the Cayman Islands? The name of the man who is its only shareholder and only director? The name of the man who thought he could hide behind the Cayman Island rules on anonymity and never be revealed as the controller of Red Corner? The name of the man who intentionally tanked Costins? Who offloaded his own shares at full price just before the losses came to light? Who then used his offshore company to mop up millions of Costins shares when they hit rock bottom? And who thought he could get away with all of this by setting up a man he regarded as being below the class that should be employed at Costins in the first place?’
No response. But Dove’s head was now in his hands.
‘I’ll give you a hint, Mr Dove. It’s the same answer to all of them.’
Still nothing.
Michael turned to the prosecuting barrister. Even she looked desperate. Worn down by the combination of blows Dove had just received. She indicated to the sheet of paper in Michael’s hand. He passed it across.
A certificate of incorporation in Grand Cayman. The company was Red Corner Inc. The director and sole shareholder? Richard Dove.
Daniel smiled a final time as he watched Michael lean close to the prosecutor’s ear and say, ‘I think that’s your case done, isn’t it?’