Maria has extensive experience of advising corporate and individual clients on all aspects of business crime, including corruption and money laundering. Her practice focuses on white-collar cases with a truly international dimension.
Maria regularly represents high-profile individuals and companies subject to complex corruption, money laundering, insider dealing, competition and tax investigations. Maria provides strategic advice, including where there is underlying political motivation and potential abuse of a state's criminal justice system.
Maria advises on all aspects of extradition and has also successfully acted for a number of prominent individuals who were the subject of red notices and / or diffusions on INTERPOL's information systems.
She has extensive experience of advising on, and carrying out, complex and often sensitive internal investigations both here and overseas. Both as part of an internal investigation and also separately, she is asked to advise companies on their compliance with the UK Bribery Act, the money laundering regulations, sanctions and export controls.
Given the international nature of her cases, Maria works closely with teams of professional advisors both here and overseas.
Chambers 2024 rates Maria as ‘Up and Coming’ and for fast becoming a go-to lawyer for POCA matters, including those arising out of investigations into alleged corruption, conspiracy and money laundering, with clients saying that she " is excellent and has good POCA experience" and that she " is meticulous on detail and sure-footed in her advice. She inspires confidence and is extremely reassuring".
In Legal 500 2024 (Prosecution), one client praised Maria for being “superb” and another said “she is very hard-working, dedicated, client-focused, responsive, and thinks out of the box when it comes to creating solutions for her clients.”
Maria is former President of the Criminal Commission of the UIA (Union Internationale des Avocats); and former UK National President of the UIA. Maria also sits on the Advisory Committee of the Fraud Advisory Panel. She regularly speaks and chairs panels on issues of corruption, money laundering, corporate liability, ESG and general financial crime.
Prior to joining Peters & Peters, she worked at the European Commission. She is a native French speaker, who also reads Russian and German.