'Testing Conspiracy to Defraud's Resilience'

This article reappraises the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud in the light of several new developments—the Court of Appeal’s decisions in Barton and Bermingham, and changes in fraud brought about by the current Covid-19 crisis. Defences of the conspiracy to defraud offence given in Barton and Bermingham are too scant of the issue of legal certainty. Detailed engagement with art.7 of the ECHR and its jurisprudence is needed, and this is what this article provides. A further question requires advanced analysis in the light of ongoing legal certainty concerns. What guidance should be given on bringing prosecutions for conspiracy to defraud in a rapidly changing fraud landscape, intensified by a global pandemic?