20 January 2025
Government consultation on legal professional privilege in Commonwealth investigationsRead moreSar KatdareRobert WyldStewart GrieveMei Gong
Robert is a dispute resolution lawyer specialising in international trade, sanctions, money laundering and anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws and compliance.
Robert specialises in international trade and commercial and financial crime. He has advised many national and international clients, including individuals, public and private companies in the banking and securities, aviation, construction, mining, power and energy industries and sovereign governments on all aspects of commercial crime regulation, internal and external regulatory investigations and prosecutions. His work has a particular focus on commercial crime and fraud, anti-corruption and bribery investigations and prosecutions, sanctions, money laundering, extradition and domestic and international taxation related disputes in Australia and overseas.
Robert has published texts (in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe) on Australia’s anti-bribery, compliance and sanctions regimes and on managing risks in international trade. He was the Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) for 2015 and 2016 and has been an Advisory Board Member of the ACC since 2021. He is the IBA Australia office on the Asset Recovery Committee for 2023 and 2024. He appears regularly across the Australia media as a specialist and expert on bribery and corruption issues.
Work highlights
International Bar Association
Pro-bono work co-leading the IBA Anti-Corruption Committee Task Force on Ukraine in working with the Ukraine Government to improve integrity across the public and private sector.
Groote Eylandt Aboriginal Trust (GEAT)
Extensive claims of fraud and breach of trust by former trustees and the Trust’s public officer, and conducting proceedings against the Trust’s former accountants’ auditors and lawyers for recovery of substantial losses.
Jacobs Group foreign bribery prosecution
Successfully defending Paul Casamento in Australia’s first foreign bribery criminal prosecution, concerning alleged bribes paid through intermediaries to officials in the Philippines and Vietnam concerning aid-funded infrastructure projects.
AWB Ltd
Representing former employees of AWB Ltd before the Cole Royal Commission investigating the legality of AWB’s wheat sales and the payment of monies for trucking and other fees under the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program and the subsequent ASIC and AFP Taskforce.
Sanction and extradition matters
Australia’s sanctions regime including sanctions permit applications to the Australian Government and individuals on Australia’s extradition regime.
Bribery and corruption investigations
Conducting internal corporate investigations and representing individual directors and officers on their potential liability in relation to internal and external investigations where bribery, corruption and other forms of financial misconduct issues arise.