Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID)
The nature of crime is changing, and the scale and complexity of organised crime groups is growing, driven by global movements of people and threats from new technologies. The criminal justice system must adapt and evolve to meet the challenges that these changes pose. The CPS Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) ensures that we have the resilience, expertise and flexibility in our staff and our organisational structure to best respond to new and changing areas of complex crime.
SEOCID is comprised of three divisions: The International, London and South-East Division and Regional and Wales Division, which are made up of specialist multidisciplinary teams dealing with complex organised crime and economic crime casework, and the Proceeds of Crime Division, which works to recover ill-gotten gains from criminal activity. Our International and Extradition teams sit within the International, London and South-East Division. A new unit dealing with the most complex and high-risk child sexual abuse cases forms part of the Regional and Wales Division.
Who's who in SEOCID
Adrian Foster, Head of CPS Proceeds of Crime
Adrian Foster is Head of CPS Proceeds of Crime.
Adrian leads a team of 150 staff tasked with restraining and confiscating criminal assets both within England and Wales and internationally.
Adrian was previously Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Thames and Chiltern, which covers five counties and serves a population of approximately four million people.
Joanne Jakymec, Head of International, London and South-East Division
Joanne Jakymec is Head of the International, London and South East Division.
Joanne qualified as a barrister in 1998 and joined HM Customs and Excise Solicitors Office two years later. She went on to become a Senior Prosecutor and Team Leader in the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office Serious Organised Crime Division.
In 2011, Joanne was appointed Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor and Head of Organised Crime in the CPS. She was responsible for the prosecution of serious organised crime investigated by the National Crime Agency and other law enforcement partners in England and Wales.
Joanne has also worked in CPS London as a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, leading on disclosure, advocacy and the prosecution of Crown Court cases. In June 2017, Joanne became the Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex. She became Head of the International Justice and Organised Crime Division in June 2021.
Andrew Penhale, Head of Regional and Wales Division
Andrew Penhale is the Head of Regional and Wales Division and was appointed in February 2020.
Prior to that Andrew was the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North-East Area, leading teams based in Newcastle and Middlesbrough, covering Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland.
Between 2011 and 2015, Andrew was Deputy Head of the Specialist Fraud Division, with responsibility for large, complex fraud and tax evasion cases, leading 250 staff based in six offices in England and Wales. Prior to that, he spent four years as the northern Unit Head for the Organised Crime Division, leading teams in Manchester and Yorkshire, handling a wide range of cases involving drug-trafficking, money-laundering, cyber-crime and people-trafficking.
Andrew also spent two years as a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, where he was the Area Violence Against Women and Girls and Hate Crime Co-ordinator and led the pilot introductions of Better Case Management (BCM) and the Digital Case System (DCS), in Leeds.
Andrew is the CPS legal lead in two areas: the national roll-out of section 28 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, involving the early video cross-examination of children and other witnesses; and on Serious Violence, covering firearms, knife crime, noxious substances and gang activity.
The International, London, and South East Division (ILSED) of the Serious Economic and Organised Crime Directorate (SEOCID) is headed by Jo Jakymec. This division is responsible for prosecuting serious economic and organised crime in London and the South East.
The Serious Economic and Organised Crime casework is handled within two units, led by Kate Anderson and Peter Mann.
In addition, the division includes an International Unit, headed by Robin Weyell, and an Extradition Unit, headed by John Sheehan.
The International Unit has a network of specialist prosecutors deployed overseas in countries of strategic importance to CPS domestic casework, working on mutual legal assistance, extradition and asset recovery matters. The team also provides a centre of expertise for the CPS in all aspects of international engagement, co-operation and evidence-gathering.
Kate Anderson, Deputy Head of ILSED
Kate joined the CPS in 2014, after 15 years in private practice as a criminal solicitor.
Kate spent two years in the CPS Organised Crime Division before spending 18 months on secondment to the Attorney General’s Office leading on Unduly Lenient Sentences.
On her return to CPS, Kate became Head of Policy in CPS Headquarters, working on disclosure and initiatives under the National Disclosure Improvement Plan. Kate then became a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in the Directors of Legal Services team, with responsibility for driving forward casework quality.
Kate joined CPS Wessex as the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in July 2020, with responsibility for the magistrates’, Crown Court, RASSO and Complex Casework teams. She became a Deputy Head of the International Justice and Organised Crime Division in January 2022.
Peter Mann, Deputy Head of ILSED
Peter joined the Crown Prosecution Service in 1990 as a legal trainee for CPS West Yorkshire. He progressed through several roles within CPS West Yorkshire and CPS London until he became the Head of Complex Casework Unit (CCU) for Yorkshire & Humberside in 2011. In 2018 Peter was appointed as Senior District Crown Prosecutor for the Yorkshire & Humberside Crown Court team. In 2019 Peter moved to CPS Thames & Chiltern as Head of CCU and the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) team.
In November 2019 Peter was appointed on temporary promotion as a Deputy Head of the Specialist Fraud Division for London. Peter leads for Specialist Fraud Division with the City of London Police and the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC). Peter is currently leading for CPS on Project OTELLO - a cross government campaign to step up the national response to economic crime.
He became a Deputy Head of the International Justice and Organised Crime Division in January 2022.
Robin Weyell - Head of International
Robin Weyell, Head of International, has been with the CPS since 2019, first as a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in the East of England and then moving to his current role in January 2023.
He has a 23-year career in the civil service focusing primarily on counter-narcotics, organised crime, and investigatory powers. He started off as an Investigation legal adviser for HM Customs in Manchester before moving to the (then) Independent Police Complaints Commission where he focused on police malpractice and corruption.
He was Head of Covert and International law at the National Crime Agency before being appointed as the first legal adviser to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s office where he supported the Commissioner overseeing the work of the UK’s intelligence agencies.
Before joining the civil service he was a defence solicitor.
John Sheehan, Head of Extradition
John has defended and prosecuted complex casework, including serious economic crime, since 1997. In 2006, after working in private practice, John joined HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). He led inspections of the CPS and the Serious Fraud Office, which he subsequently joined in 2014 as Head of Policy.
In January 2017, John joined the CPS Specialist Fraud Division as a Unit Head in the London Office, and in October 2017 he was formally appointed Deputy Head of Division, responsible for the Birmingham and Leeds offices.
Jason Putman, Area Business Manager
Jason joined the CPS in 1988 as an Administrative Assistant and in 1999 became the Area Business Manager for CPS Dorset.
In 2011 he moved to the role of Business Change and Delivery Manager for CPS Wessex which covered Dorset, Hampshire & Isle of Wight and Wiltshire. In 2015 he became the Senior Business Manager for the CPS London Magistrates’ Unit and in 2016 joined the CPS Operations Directorate as a Project Manager.
Jason has been an Area Business Manager since 2018, first for International Justice and Organised Crime Division and later for the International, London and South-East Division of SEOCID.
The CPS Proceeds of Crime Division is headed by Adrian Foster and supported by Debbie Price. This division is responsible for ensuring criminals cannot financially benefit from their crimes by freezing assets before conviction (restraint) and post-conviction confiscation and compensation. In addition the division can take on civil recovery.
Debbie Price, Deputy Head of CPS Proceeds of Crime
Debbie is the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Proceeds of Crime Division and is responsible for the day to day operational delivery.
She prosecuted Organised Crime for seven years before leading the Home Office’s UK Central Authority (UKCA), overseeing incoming and outgoing requests for Mutual Legal Assistance.
As a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor she has led CPS Extradition and International Units and has recently completed a secondment as Deputy Director in the NCA’s National Economic Crime Centre where she was Head of the UK Financial Intelligence Unit.
Abigail Cunningham, Acting Area Business Manager
Abigail Cunningham is acting Area Business Manager for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division since April 2022. In this role she is responsible for a remit of approximately 200 staff across 16 locations nationally. Working alongside our Chief Crown Prosecutor, Abigail provides leadership and strategic direction across the Division and is responsible for all business functions, including finance, people management, and performance.
Abigail began her career with the CPS in July 2001, as an administrator. Since then, she has been successful in securing various posts over the years, including her substantive role as Senior Operational Business Manager (SOBM) in the Northwest Area in August 2016. The SOBM role involves managing the business functions with responsibility for performance of Operational Delivery, comprising of approx. 250 staff across a wide geographical area.
The Regional and Wales Division of the Serious Economic and Organised Crime Directorate (SEOCID) is headed by Andrew Penhale. This division is responsible for the prosecution of serious economic and organised crime in East Anglia, the Midlands, South West, the North and Wales.
Casework is split within two regions; the North, headed by Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Jessica Walker, and Midlands & Wales, headed by Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Mark Paul.
The division includes a specialist Organised Child and Sexual Abuse Unit (OCSAU) headed by Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Nicola Haywood.
Jessica Walker - Deputy Head of the Regional and Wales Division (North)
Jessica qualified as a barrister in 1996 and, after initially practicing at the Criminal Bar, she joined HM Customs and Excise Prosecution Office in 2003.
Jessica prosecuted in the Serious Organised Crime Division of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, before joining the CPS in 2011.
Between 2014 and 2019, she held posts as the Head of Advocacy, Head of Homicide and Head of Complex Casework in CPS London, before becoming a Unit Head in the Serious Fraud Division in 2019.
Jessica took up the role of Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in SEOCID Regional and Wales Division in July 2023.
Nicola Haywood - Head of Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit
Nicola worked for a criminal defence firm before joining CPS Bristol in 2001. During her CPS career she has specialised in youth, Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) and complex casework, and qualified as a higher court advocate in 2004.
Nicola progressed through several roles within CPS Bristol and CPS Wiltshire being appointed as Head of the Complex Casework and RASSO units in CPS South West. In August 2014 she became Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, first for CPS South West and later for CPS Wessex. In August 2020, she moved to CPS Headquarters as Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor lead for initiatives under the Cross Government Rape Review and Joint National Action Plan working on national handling of RASSO casework.
In July 2021 Nicola was appointed as CPS legal lead for Child Sexual Abuse and the following year, became the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the newly formed Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit.
Mark Paul - Deputy Head of Regional and Wales Division (Midlands & Wales)
Mark joined SEOCID in May 2023 from CPS West Midlands where he led their Complex Casework Unit (CCU) for six years.
Notable cases Mark has overseen include the tragic murder of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Operation Thatcher (gang-related murder of 15-year-old Keon Lincoln in Birmingham) and Operation Fort which is believed to be the largest modern slavery investigation ever undertaken in Europe.
Mark also led an expansion of the CCU to incorporate serious offences of street violence and offences of exploitation by criminal gangs.
In previous CPS roles over a career spanning 34 years, Mark has been involved in drafting the current version of the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the current disclosure protocol with the Local Authorities and Family Court.
Mark is now the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Regional and Wales Division in the Midlands and Wales with responsibility for offices in Birmingham and Cardiff.
Robert Lucey, Area Business Manager (Regional and Wales Division)
Robert is the Area Business Manager for Regional and Wales Division, with responsibility for people and financial management, strategic planning, performance monitoring and the implementation of operational business systems.
Robert joined the CPS as a Paralegal and has undertaken a variety of roles. In 2005, Robert developed and implemented the CPS Very High Cost Case fee scheme. Between 2007 and 2010 he was a Senior Policy Advisor in the newly established Advocacy Strategy Programme and led on extension of Associate Prosecutor powers and external regulation. In 2010, Robert established the CPS Appeals and Review Unit.
Robert has been a Division Business Manager since 2014 and in 2017, joined Specialist Fraud Division as the Area Business Manager.