Private prosecutions restore that missing accountability, particularly in cases of fraud, cryptocurrency and complex financial crime.

A person found guilty in a private prosecution is guilty of a criminal offence, provided the offence itself is defined as criminal under UK law.

Here’s how it works:

• A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual or organisation rather than by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or police.
• This right is preserved under Section 6(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985[1].

Legal Status of a Conviction

• If a private prosecution results in a conviction, it is legally equivalent to a conviction in a public prosecution.
• The offence prosecuted must be a criminal offence under UK law.
• The proceedings follow the same Criminal Procedure Rules, and the defendant is tried in a criminal court (Magistrates’ or Crown Court, depending on the offence)[2].
• The burden of proof is the same: guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt[3].

Oversight and Safeguards

• The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has the authority to take over any private prosecution. It may continue or discontinue the case if it’s not in the public interest or lacks sufficient evidence[2].
• The court must be satisfied that the case meets the evidential and public interest tests before allowing it to proceed.

Implications of a Guilty Verdict

If the court finds the defendant guilty in a private prosecution:

• The conviction is recorded as a criminal conviction.
• The defendant may face criminal penalties, including fines, community orders, or imprisonment, depending on the offence.

Long read –

Why Private Prosecutions Matter.

• It has never been clearer that there is an absolute necessity for private prosecutions – particularly in cases of fraud, cryptocurrency and complex financial crime.
• The criminal justice system is under unprecedented strain, with public resources stretched and investigative capacity diminished. In this environment, the right to bring a private prosecution has become not merely an option but a vital safeguard for the rule of law.
• The recent Guardian article exploring the rise of private prosecutions highlights this reality; there has been a 3,000% increase in private prosecutions since 2014, reflecting a justice system struggling to keep pace with the growth and complexity of modern crime.
• https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/oct/23/the-police-werent-interested-whats-driving-the-rise-in-private-prosecutions
• The same article points out
• That serious, organised fraud involving multiple victims is routinely ignored by the police, who are inevitably unable to address the sheer scale of offending.
• In 2024 alone, reported fraud increased by 31%,
• yet only 6% of Action Fraud reports are passed to the police, and
• of those, just 8% result in a court ruling.
• These figures illustrate a crisis of enforcement – not of law, but of capacity.
• Victims of fraud, deception and cybercrime are too often left without redress, even where substantial evidence exists.
• Private prosecutions restore that missing accountability.
• They ensure that complex wrongdoing can still be investigated and prosecuted before an independent court, maintaining public confidence in a system that would otherwise appear unresponsive.
• Private prosecutions have a long and respected history in English law. Some of the most significant cases of recent decades have relied on this mechanism, from 
• Doreen Lawrence’s private prosecution in the early 1990s after the initial failure to prosecute her son Stephen’s killers, to corporate and financial crime cases that exposed serious misconduct and led to criminal convictions.
• One of the most prominent of these was the prosecution of businessman Ketan Somaia,
• In that case, following a £12 million investment fraud spanning several jurisdictions, EMM secured Somaia’s conviction at the Old Bailey in 2014 – one of the largest private prosecutions ever undertaken in the UK.
• https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=caee45fc-826c-4017-be5e-5b52410f1f60
• Another more prominent prosecution was that of the former CEO of a large legal expenses company, where the fraud had been long-running and highly complex; it was one of the largest private prosecutions in the UK.
• The private prosecution of the former CEO of DAS (UK) (Paul Asplin) and others at Southwark Crown Court.
• In that case, Paul Asplin was convicted and sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment and disqualified from being a company director for 12 years.
• This is to date one of the largest private prosecutions ever successfully brought.
• https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/R-v-Asplin-and-Ors-2021-EWCA-Crim-1313.pdf
• https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/limited-success-for-das-fraudsters-in-8m-confiscation-order-challenge
• More recently, EMM successfully prosecuted Edna Da Silva Vieira & others / R v Elijah Kellie and Others (2024) for a sophisticated charity-fraud scheme against Macmillan Cancer Support, where hundreds of bank accounts were used to defraud a cancer-charity grants system during the pandemic – again acting where the state had not.
• https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/pastors-fraud-theft-macmillan-moses-elijah-kellie-7k063s5k5
• https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=390ae5fc-2275-46bf-996f-929567393fb1
• Properly conducted private prosecutions uphold the same evidential and public-interest tests as those brought by the Crown Prosecution Service.
• They are conducted transparently, under judicial oversight, and within the same procedural framework as state prosecutions.
• The difference lies in capacity and commitment: private prosecutions ensure that serious criminal conduct cannot escape accountability simply because of limited public resources.
• As the justice system continues to face growing backlogs and funding constraints, the need for reputable private prosecution specialists has never been greater.
• These cases do not undermine public justice- they reinforce it, ensuring that the law remains a living force rather than a promise deferred.

Sources

• https://www.emmlegal.com/news/why-private-prosecutions-matter/
• [1] www.rahmanravelli.co.uk
• [2] www.gov.uk
• [3] www.another-day.com