A white-collar crime lawyer has been accused of inciting the Serious Fraud Office into investigating his client ENRC to ramp up his own legal fees, a court has heard.

Neil Gerrard — a former partner of law firm Dechert who was also previously a policeman — was motivated by “money and greed” in his conduct, which included unauthorised contact with the SFO and leaks to the media, a barrister for Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) told London’s Commercial Court on 24 May.