White Collar Crime, Regulatory & Corporate Investigations

Defence and Compliance Advice for Companies and Senior Executives

Holmes advises companies, boards and senior executives on white collar crime, regulatory enforcement and corporate investigations in Ireland. We provide clear, practical legal advice to help clients manage criminal and regulatory risk, respond to investigations and protect reputation, operations and leadership.

Working closely with boards, in-house counsel and senior management, we support clients from the earliest stages of scrutiny through to resolution, whether that involves engagement with regulators, defending prosecutions or strengthening compliance frameworks to prevent future risk.

Integrated Defence and Risk Management

Our white collar and investigations practice brings together expertise across criminal defence, regulatory law, employment, disputes and data protection. This integrated approach ensures investigations are managed consistently, efficiently and with a clear focus on legal exposure, commercial impact and reputational risk.

Our White Collar & Investigations Expertise

We advise and defend clients across a wide range of criminal, regulatory and enforcement matters, including:

• Regulatory and criminal defence before Irish regulators and the European Commission  

• Internal, statutory and regulatory investigations  

• Financial crime, including fraud, anti-money laundering, asset tracing and recovery  

• Market abuse, insider dealing and competition law enforcement (including dawn raids)  

• Compliance programmes, whistleblowing frameworks and training

Regulatory and Criminal Investigations Support

We guide clients through regulatory and criminal enforcement with a disciplined, risk-focused approach. Our advice covers inspections, information requests, interviews under caution, enforcement proceedings and resolution strategies tailored to the seriousness and sensitivity of each matter.

We engage constructively with authorities where appropriate, challenge process and evidence where appropriate, and work to reduce sanction risk, media exposure and operational disruption while protecting legal privilege and reputational interests.

Experience Before State and EU Regulators

Holmes has extensive experience representing organisations and senior executives before Irish and EU regulatory bodies. We regularly advise on engagements with authorities throughout regulatory inspections, investigations and enforcement proceedings.

Our regulatory experience includes matters involving the Corporate Enforcement Authority, the Data Protection Commission, the Health & Safety Authority, the European Commission, and a wide range of environmental, planning and sectoral regulators.

We support clients in managing inspections, responding to statutory notices and information requests, preparing for interviews under caution, and defending prosecutions and enforcement actions. Our focus is on controlling regulatory risk, protecting legal privilege and resolving matters efficiently and proportionately.

Financial Crime, Market Abuse and Corporate Misconduct

We provide focused defence and advisory support in complex and high-risk investigations involving alleged corporate and financial misconduct. Our team advises organisations and individuals on exposure, strategy and resolution in sensitive matters where legal, regulatory and reputational risks intersect.

Our experience includes:

• Fraud and Anti-Money Laundering

Advising on reporting obligations, investigation strategy, asset tracing and recovery, and engagement with enforcement authorities.

• Market Abuse and Insider Dealing

Managing regulatory investigations, securing and reviewing trading records, protecting legal privilege, preparing witnesses and responding to enforcement action.

• Bribery, Corruption and Competition Law

Assessing risk and liability, remediating compliance controls, advising on leniency and cooperation options, and defending regulatory and criminal investigations.

Trusted Advisors on White Collar and Regulatory Risk

Holmes is a trusted advisor to organisations and senior leaders facing white collar crime, regulatory investigations and enforcement risk. Clients value our discretion, responsiveness and ability to combine technical defence expertise with a clear understanding of commercial and reputational priorities.

If you require advice on a regulatory investigation, enforcement action or internal inquiry, speak with a member of our White Collar Crime and Investigations team for a confidential discussion.