Expert Witness and Financial Crime Forensics

Our Expert Witness and Financial Crime Forensics services, covering both civil and criminal cases, are provided by Salam Alaswad.

Mr Alaswad is a globally recognised Expert Witness. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Financial Regulation and Compliance and has over 20 years of senior leadership experience in the FX and CFD (Contracts for Difference) industry, including 11 years as a CEO. His career spans the City of London and international markets, with deep expertise in regulated investment firms, financial crime risk, and complex global operations.

Mr Alaswad has held multiple FCA-regulated controlled functions, giving him strong practical knowledge of compliance, risk management, and corporate governance. He has also led several FCA authorisation applications, including investment firms, Appointed Representative (AR) arrangements, and change in control approvals.

His hands-on experience covers the full operational and technical running of FX and CFD brokerages. This includes trading platforms such as MT4 and Vertex FX, liquidity and bridge systems, and execution frameworks. He has detailed expertise in stop-out levels, margin calls, liquidation of wrong quotes, and profit and loss analysis.

He also brings strong practical knowledge of client onboarding, including KYC and CDD, international money flows, and best practices in client categorisation between retail and professional clients.

Mr Alaswad is authorised by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) under Licensed Access to instruct barristers directly on behalf of his clients for advice and representation before courts and tribunals in England and Wales, as well as in arbitration and mediation.

The duty of an expert witness

The duty of an expert witness is to help the court to achieve its overriding objective by giving an opinion which is objective and unbiased, in relation to matters within their expertise. This is a duty that is owed to the court and overrides any obligation to the party from whom the expert is receiving instructions.

Expert evidence is admissible to furnish the court with information which is likely to be outside the experience and the knowledge of a judge or jury. In criminal cases, experts can be of great assistance to magistrates and juries in aiding them to determine the issues in a case, including the guilt or innocence of an accused.

Qualifications

LL.M, PGDip, B.Sc., MEWI, CUBS civil, CUBS criminal

Areas of expertise

  • Contract for Differences (CFD)
  • Forex (FX)
  • Spread betting
  • Retail investment products
  • Financial derivatives
  • Fraud and financial crime including wire frauds and sophisticated scams
  • Boiler room, multilevel marketing, pyramid selling, Ponzi schemes
  • Anti-Money Laundering (AML) arrangements and cross-border fraud
  • Suspicious bank transfers involving onshore, offshore, and shell companies
  • Hawala money transfer
  • Hedging techniques and risk management strategies
  • Poor execution and manipulation of the market bid/ask prices
  • Mis-selling of Complex Financial Products: Forex, CFDs, and Other Derivatives

Training relevant to the expert witness services

  • Criminal Experts Law and Procedure- Bond Solon
  • Excellence in Expert Witness report writing – Bond Solon
  • Courtroom Skills for Expert Witness – Bond Solon
  • Civil Law and Procedure – Bond Solon
  • Cross-examination – Bond Solon

Fees

Initial discussions and a preliminary high-level assessment of the case are free of charge, regardless of how long this takes.

Mr Alaswad’s standard hourly rate is £350 + VAT for preparing an expert witness report and £450 + VAT per hour for court attendance. The instructing party will be furnished with detailed terms of business with estimated costs beforehand.

Mr Alaswad accepts cases funded by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).

Contact details

Solicitors and barristers are invited to contact Salam Alaswad directly to discuss his services as an Expert Witness and/or Expert Adviser. Enquiries may be made by email at salam.alaswad@fxandcfd.com or by completing the Request for Service form.

Mr Alaswad accepts instructions from UK and international law firms, as well as directly from overseas firms, agencies, and, where appropriate, clients.

 

 

 
 
Mr. Salam Alaswad