Flavia Kenyon

Flavia is a pioneering Web3, Blockchain, and AI barrister. She has advised countless Web3 projects and blockchain clients and has acquired rare hands-on experience through having founded a legal-tech laboratory of her own. Flavia is noted for her pioneering Web3 legal work and is ranked in Tier 1 for Crypto-assets and Blockchain by The Legal 500 2024.

Innovation lies at the heart of Flavia’s legal practice. She combines nearly two decades of courtroom advocacy, complex litigation, and legal drafting with cutting edge research and development in technology, working alongside developers, coders, entrepreneurs, inventors, and academics.

Flavia has gained specialist training and accreditation in blockchain technology and strategy from Oxford University and in crypto-assets and financial disruption from the London School of Economics.

Flavia is often instructed at the inception of a project. She advises on both legal/regulatory and strategic adoption of blockchain technology for industry and e-commerce, and for the creative sector – including brands, gaming, and films.

Flavia advised a digital fashion marketplace on using blockchain and NFT technology in their operations, particularly in the supply chain of garments. This was in order to prove the garments’ provenance, green credentials, human-rights compliant manufacturing, and to combat counterfeiting, whilst at the same time enhancing brand reputation.

Flavia was instructed by a film director to advise on the creation of an NFT campaign to coincide with the launch of the film (Confetti) in London. This was a first of its kind project where a feature film used blockchain and NFTs to promote its message globally. Flavia advised on IP/copyright protection of the underlying NFT art using actors’ images. Flavia advised on the legal framework and drafted the contract for services underpinning the creation of the NFT campaign and the contractual relationship between the film director’s Company and the NFT producer.

Flavia has developed a particular expertise advising on the legal formation, structure, and governance of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, (DAOs). Through her extensive work on DAOs, Flavia has mastered an understanding of and familiarity with several foreign jurisdictions in the area of company law and organisational structures.

Flavia has advised one of the biggest DAOs on the issue of where and how it could bring a lawsuit against a DAO member for an unauthorised transaction. The case involved complex and novel analysis and interpretation of the legal structure involving several entities across three jurisdictions.

Flavia has advised both for-profit and not-for profit DAOs, and her DAO legal playbook currently includes advice on:

• legal structures
• governance
• smart contracts, tokenomics
• regulatory compliance
• dispute resolution
• use of privacy tools, data security, digital identity, and reputation

Flavia’s practice focuses on representing and advising companies at the forefront of the financial services industry’s digital transformation.

Flavia’s FinTech practice includes:

• regulatory advice on token issuance.
• advice on the regulatory framework and implementation of the Financial Markets and Services Act (FSMA), 2000 and 2023, and the FCA’s crypto-assets financial promotion regulatory regime.
• advice on the legal ambit and compliance with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, (MiCA), and the obligations of crypto businesses that meet the definition of CASP/CAI under the Regulation.
• advice on the proposed regulations impacting DeFi and decentralised networks.
• bespoke legal and strategic advice to companies on the implementation of the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023; advice on the statutory requirement for use of a ‘reliable’ system, and what constitutes a ‘reliable’ system to ensure successful conversion from a paper document to an electronic trade document and the validity of the instrument and the transaction.

Flavia advises on international company law and disputes. She has advised traditional as well as blockchain-based companies and start-ups on formation, shareholders’ rights and disputes, corporate liability, director’s duties and unfair prejudice petitions under the Companies Act 2006.

Flavia is an experienced commercial contracts barrister with a particular focus on advancing digital trade through the implementation of the next evolution of smart legal contracts – Ricardian contracts. Flavia has developed a particular expertise in this area and is currently working on a type of Ricardian contract to facilitate international trade.

Her expertise focuses on conflict of laws, jurisdiction, immunity from jurisdiction, commercial contracts, contractual interpretation, advising on cross-jurisdiction disputes, admissibility of evidence, and the overall merits of the case.

Highlights of her work:

During 2020- 2022 Flavia represented the Romanian Embassy in London, and the Romanian State in a commercial dispute over a property. The Claimant’s claim was discontinued as a result of Flavia successfully raising issues of jurisdiction and State immunity from jurisdiction: CC-v- The State of Romania and the Embassy of Romania.

Flavia has advised on an international group action in the oil and gas sector, a $30 million drilling operation in Tashkent, (Uzbekistan), involving 37 engineers against four UK company directors who employed them. The claim was for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unlawful means conspiracy against a background of money laundering, and breach of sanctions.

Flavia has advised the Midwifery Council on matters of international law and comparative interpretation of the UK law and the Romanian law on bribery arising in a fitness to practise litigation.

Flavia is currently working on a shareholders’ petition to the High Court under the unfair prejudice jurisdiction.

Flavia has a strong international profile in cyber legal advisory and representation. Flavia’s expertise focuses on the legal and regulatory challenges arising out of the intersection of existing laws and rapidly advancing distributed ledger technology and AI, and extends to cyber fraud, cyber attacks, crypto-assets litigation, cyber sanctions, data breaches, privacy, online harms, and deepfakes.

Flavia’s cyber journey began in 2015 when she represented a coder in a ‘malware as a service’ trial:

‘Malware-as-a-service’: R-v-AI and Others, Inner London CC, (2015- 2016)

It was described as the “the biggest case the PCeU has dealt with to date, and the biggest cyber phishing case so far in the UK”.

Flavia represented a coder charged with a conspiracy to commit fraud by launching phishing attacks targeting banks and financial institutions in the UK and worldwide. The Defendant and others invented a piece of malware capable of launching phishing attacks and harvesting financial data stored on servers in France, USA, and Panama. The Defendants sold the malware and data to criminal organisations and were paid in bitcoin. The value of the fraud was estimated at around £59 million.

Deepfake litigation: R-v-G, St Alban’s CC, (2022)

The case raised a novel legal issue regarding the evidential status of a ‘deepfake’ (an AI manipulated image) in a criminal trial. Flavia successfully argued against its admissibility, and requested proof of its authenticity, its evidential trail, and the metadata so that it could be forensically analysed. Following successful legal argument, the Prosecution offered no evidence.

Flavia is a strong advocate for privacy and protection of individual rights in an increasingly intermediated and surveilled world. She has advised, written, and presented on this important topic.

In 2023 Flavia advised and presented on the legal implications of the US OFAC’s sanctioning of the decentralised privacy enhancing tool, Tornado Cash.

In 2021 Flavia addressed the Global Cyber Summit at the International Cyber Expo held at Olympia on the power of weaponised disinformation, freedom of speech, surveillance, and online harms.

Flavia is frequently instructed to act in complex, cross-jurisdiction fraud trials. She has defended in insolvency prosecutions, money laundering, cyber fraud, insider dealing, fraudulent trading, conspiracies to defraud financial institutions, conspiracies to making articles to use in fraud, forgery, fraud by misrepresentation, and Ponzi schemes.

Flavia advises on private investigations and prosecutions. She advises on Disclosure Orders, Norwich Pharmacal Orders, Banker’s Trust Orders, and Unexplained Wealth Orders.

Flavia advised Transparency International with regards to two international investigations into corporate corruption and bribery offences of foreign officials in the oil and gas sector in Senegal valued at £9-£12 billion.

Flavia advised Earl Spencer in relation to an investigation into the BBC Panorama Bashir interview with Princess Diana and the ensuing private enquiry conducted by Lord Dyson.

Notable trials

Money laundering

R-v- MM and Others, Isleworth Crown Court, (2020- 2021)

Flavia acted for the main defendant in an international, high- profile conspiracy to launder the proceeds from the biggest heist in the UK: £26 million worth of jewellery and watches stolen from the houses of Tamara Ecclestone, Frank Lampard, and the former owner of Leicester City FC. After a two months trial, Flavia’s client was acquitted.

R-v- OA and Others, Southwark Crown Court, (2019)  

Flavia acted in a trial arising out of an insider dealing fraud at the Metro Bank in Holborn. The proceeds were laundered through a sophisticated network of shell companies, and business accounts. Flavia’s client was the only defendant to be acquitted at trial.

R-v-ED and Others, (Operation Ragule), Blackfriars Crown Court (2016) 

The trial of an international organised criminal group said to be part of a wider conspiracy to launder money through Hawala banking in the Middle East. After a month long trial, Flavia’s client was the only defendant to be acquitted.

R-v- I and Others, (Operation Heddon), Southwark Crown Court (2012-2013)

Flavia represented a Barclays bank manager charged with conspiracy to commit a large property fraud and conspiracy to money laundering. The two conspiracies overlapped: one involved stealing properties by forging title deeds at the Land Registry, the other, laundering the money from properties sales through accounts at Barclays Bank.

Commerce and Insolvency/ Fraudulent trading/ Unauthorised regulated activity

R-v-SD and Others, Southwark Crown Court (2019)

Insolvency trial of seven company directors charged with a string of fraud offences under section 993 of the Companies Act 2006. The defendants, operating under false identities, made use of multiple companies dishonestly intending to defraud creditors during 2009-2012.

R-v- JO and Another, Guildford Crown Court (2016-2017)

SFO trial of fraudulent trading, contrary to section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 worth £1.9 million. The Defendants set up two companies selling investments in rare earth metals. At trial the investments were proven to be a sham through a series of sophisticated transactions and a network of corrupt brokers acting as agents for the Defendants.

R-v-N, Northampton Crown Court (2014-2015)

SFO prosecution of fraudulent trading and unauthorized regulated activity.  Flavia represented a trader who set up an organisation trading as an investments club, which gradually became a Ponzi scheme with 180 investors and over £2.6 million in debt. The trial required complex expert evidence in respect of trading on FXCM, the foreign exchange market.

Conspiracy to make articles for use in fraud/Conspiracy to defraud

R-v- C and Others, (Operation Academy), Blackfriars Crown Court (2018)

Flavia represented the first Defendant charged together with seven others in a £3.5 million conspiracy to make and supply articles to use in fraud, and a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions. The conspiracy involved the making and selling of a highly sophisticated skimming device capable of storing data of over 20,000 bank accounts at a time.  Flavia’s client was the only defendant to be acquitted at trial.

R-v-DR, Central Criminal Court, (2013)

SFO prosecution of fraud by false representation involving a £923 million claim for injury and damages arising out of an accident at work. The original claim started off as genuine and as it progressed through the civil courts it became vitiated by fraud with the Defendant exaggerating the extent of his injuries and the medical help he required. Despite the large sum, Flavia successfully argued for a short custodial sentence of 8 months.

Flavia has developed specialism in this area of law, particularly on matters pertaining to climate change and environmental impact.

Flavia advises and helps both traditional and blockchain-based companies navigate the complex ESG legal landscape in order to comply with their disclosure duties and reporting obligations.

As part of her regulatory practice, Flavia advises blockchain-based companies, CASPs and CAIs on how to implement and comply with the new, mandatory White Paper requirements and the environmental protection mission set out in Recital 7 of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, (MiCA).

Flavia is currently advising on a blockchain carbon tokenomics model that will revolutionise the voluntary carbon market of the tourism industry. The pioneering project seeks to transform emissions measurement and carbon trading in tourism with a three-tier-token-based system and a novel legal structure of co-modal entities.