Spear’s Review

‘We’re discerning about who we’ll act for,’ Payne Hicks Beach citizenship and immigration partner Matt Ingham tells Spear’s. His UHNW clients range from Chinese and Latin American businessmen to prominent families from the Middle East. 

‘Primarily I do political asylum, frequently with a parallel extradition request and civil proceedings – high-net-worth people suing the state, for example – or defamation, privacy or harassment proceedings. Every way a state can attack a high-net-worth individual; we develop defence mechanisms for them.’

Ingham regularly instructs on matters involving international protection claims, human rights, corporate raiding, political persecution and Interpol red notices. ‘In many high-risk jurisdictions, once you reach a certain level of wealth there’s a “with us or against us” attitude, even if you try to maintain political neutrality,’ he notes.

Described by Payne Hicks Beach as having been ‘at the forefront of significant cases in the asylum field’, he has led the charge in representing Ukrainians on a pro-bono basis.