Alphege Bell

Call 1995

"He is very affable and has a very good manner with juries."

Chambers & Partners [2024]

'Alphege is a highly engaging and likeable advocate - it is obvious that his clients trust him and juries really warm to him.'

Legal 500 [2024]

"A brilliant advocate with a dynamic and fluid approach to his cases. He is excellent with clients."

Chambers & Partners, 2023

"Alphege was typically in great form. He has a real knack for quickly identifying the real issues of complex cases. The more complex and serious the case, the more he thrives. He is a calming, yet authoritative presence, in and out of the courtroom, which puts clients at ease. I have instructed him on 3 Murder trials in the last year, and we have been victorious in each one. We have a further 3 Murder trials to go this year! One of the first names on the defence sheet."

Ben Darabi, Carson Kaye Solicitors

"A calm presence in court." "He has very good judgement and can work under the pressures of the larger-scale trials."

Chambers & Partners 2022

"Fiercely intelligent, very client focused and easy to work with"

"Smooth, innovative, very authoritative and in huge demand"

"Shines through in complex law cases and an artful master of real court craft"

"Trusted by clients, respected by Judges and a real challenge to prosecution witnesses"

"First name on the defence team sheet"

Expertise

Alphege Bell routinely defends in the most complex, very grave and multi-defendant criminal offences being prosecuted in England and Wales.  His cases often garner national press coverage and in some cases international media coverage. He has a meticulous approach to his cases. A fierce advocate against the over reach of joint enterprise, he receives instructions to defend across the full range of organised crime group offences. This includes heavy and largescale drugs operations, county lines, importations and encrypted device investigations.

He has an almost engineering level of understanding of sophisticated and complex phone data / cell site analysis which extends to the mastery of hysteresis. Alphege is skilled in all aspects of defence relating to sexual offences. He has defended in single complainant/single defendant cases, as well as multi defendant/complainant cases. He is well versed in litigating the disclosure landscape; whether it be extracting care records from the local authority or other third party material.

Notable Crime cases


R v E, BCC

Secured the acquittal of a client accused of murder and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life. He was accused of being part of gang that shot a rival outside a nightclub in Bradford. The defendant was acquitted on all charges direction of the Judge following a legal submission on the legal width of joint enterprise. The Crown appealed the terminatory ruling and lost in the Court of Appeal.

R v A,WCC

Secured the acquittal of a client accused of conspiracy to murder and possession of several firearms and with intent to endanger life. Against the back drop of the victim being acquitted of murder, the defendant and others were accused of attempting to execute the victim by shooting him in a sitting vehicle in broad daylight. One of the assailants whilst trying to smash a windscreen with a double barrel shot, there was an accidental discharge the firearm into his own chest and killed him on the spot. Despite there being a mixed profile DNA match to one of the firearms the client was unanimously acquitted on all charges. This was a very difficult and tragic case where the head of the laboratory was cross examined about potential anomalies in the LCR algorithm.

R v O, CCC

The client was accused of being the get away driver in a multi-handed joint enterprise killing of a complete stranger who was mistaken for being an alleged gang rival. The deceased was stabbed 13 times with a zombie Knife. The client was acquitted of Murder and Manslaughter.

R v X, ICC

The client was a 15 year old school child accused with his co-defendant (aged 16) of stabbing an 18 year old in a park. The client was unanimously acquitted of Murder and Manslaughter.
R v X, CCC: The client was a 14 year old school child accused with his co-defendants of killing one young person and stabbing another person. The client was acquitted of murder and manslaughter.

R v B, WCC

As leading Counsel secured the acquittal of a young and vulnerable defendant accused of possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to rib rivals.

R v M, WCC

Instructed as leading counsel to defendant a client accused of conspiracy to rob, and discharging a live firearm at point blank range on rivals.

R v H, BCC

Instructed as leading counsel to represent a client accused of selling Israeli parabellum Uzi sub machine guns across London with intent to endanger life.

R v O, BCC

Client was accused of masterminded the largest ever drug operation in respect of illegal steroids which were manufactured in super labs in Eastern Europe.

R v N,WCC

Client was accused of being a prime mover in the largest over drugs operating in a private airport in England and Wales. The group organised the hire of a Rolls Royce to pose as tech billionaires attending the global citizen event in Bogota, Columbia by world renown A list celebrities. The group arranged more than one trip. When arrested on their last trip in a hired private plane into Farnborough, the authorities seized half a metric tonne (500kilos) of very pure Cocaine valued conservatively at £20 Million. The cocaine seized in the plane carried the stamp of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

R V O, COA

This was a complex case relating to the non-user action receipt of sexual images and their retention on a device.

R v X, BCC

Counsel was instructed in respect of a 10 defendant and multi complainant historical grooming gang case as part of a special operation in the North of England.

Alphege Bell has vast experience in complex and protracted fraud, money laundering offences, cyber fraud, banking fraud, VAT fraud and all the iterations of dishonesty in between. He has been involved in arguing cases in the Court of Appeal which set the benchmark for sentencing in credit card fraud before the publication of the sentencing guidelines.

He has a critical and innovative understanding of the matrix of abuse of process arguments. He has additional strength and gained a unique head start in the sophisticated fact management techniques in case preparation of the Maxwell Fraud Trials. He worked  on what was then the largest fraud ever brought before the courts in England and Wales valued at £406 million. Alphege has been at the forefront of defending in complex international money laundering and proceeds of crime cases. He has developed a detailed understanding of ancient ‘flying money’ cases dating back to the Tang Dynasty right through to Bitcoin and blockchain ledgers of virtual currency. Most recently has worked on case where there is a triangulation through Dubai.

Notable Business Crime & Fraud cases


R v A, CCA

This case was the leading case on sentencing in respect of credit card fraud.

R v M, SCC

Instructed to represent a defendant who was alleged to be part of a sophisticated bank fraud which targeted and looted dormant accounts of very high net worth celebrities and titans in the financial industry.

R v A,BCC

This case involved an alleged international ring of money launderers who used a ‘token’ system to launder money to any designated country. The ring operated in part from Dubai. Just under a quarter of a million pound was recovered.

R v M,ICC

Boiler room trading fraud.

R v H, BCC

£15million Money laundering operation

R v B, ICC

instructed to represent clients alleged to be involved in multi-million pound money laundering ring operating through Afghanistan and Holland. Just under half a million pounds in cash was seized from the car boot and a ledger of multi million pound transaction was taken from the co-defendants home.

  • Oxford University BA in Jurisprudence

  • Criminal Bar Association
  • South Eastern Circuit

2024

Chambers & Partners
Crime: “He is very affable and has a very good manner with juries.”
Ranked: Band 5

Legal 500
Crime: ‘Alphege is a highly engaging and likeable advocate – it is obvious that his clients trust him and juries really warm to him.’
Ranked: Tier 4

2023

Chambers & Partners
Crime: “A brilliant advocate with a dynamic and fluid approach to his cases. He is excellent with clients.”
Ranked: Band 5

Legal 500
Crime: Tier 4

2022

Chambers & Partners
Crime “A calm presence in court.” “He has very good judgement and can work under the pressures of the larger-scale trials.”
Ranked: Band 6

Chambers & Partners 2024 Logo
Legal 500 Leading Junior 2023

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