Dec 5 2010

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/12/05/lawyers-fined-after-banking-1-43m-for-mystery-clients-offshore-with-no-questions-asked-86908-22763480/

LAWYERS in a High Street firm have been fined for flouting rules meant to stop money laundering.

But George Morton and Malcolm Thomson escaped with their jobs.

Legal watchdogs found that Morton, 58, "completely ignored" procedures put in place to stop criminals laundering dirty money.

He continued to do so for over a year despite warnings from Law Society of Scotland investigators.

They discovered £1.43million of payments made without proper background checks. Some were in cash and some were for unidentified clients in Jersey and the Virgin Islands.

Thomson, 45, was found guilty of five counts of professional misconduct over breaches in accounting rules.

The pair, who worked for Marshall Wilson Law Group in Falkirk, were each fined £7500 by the Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal after they struck a deal which saw some charges dropped.

Thomson was named as the firm's money laundering reporting officer in 2005 - but now admits he is "not a suitable person" for the role.

He was first warned about "serious concerns" after a Law Society accounts check in 2005. Inspections over the next three years raised more fears about money laundering.

In 2007, it was found that the firm "did not disclose money laundering checks on four companies and two people" for payments of £1.43million. Officials were told money laundering could be taking place but Morton, who was responsible for the transactions, did not know the source of the funds.

The SSDT found that his failures to comply with the rules were "very serious" and that he had completely ignored them for a "considerable period of time".

The SSDT found "the breaches of the accounts rules which went to the very heart of the accounting system got worse rather than better during the three-year period".

Lawyer Jim Reid, who prosecuted the pair, said: "There was no suggestion that money laundering was taking place but lack of documentation left the firm open to money laundering activities."

Thomson still works at Marshall Wilson. Morton has joined another Falkirk firm, Morton Pacitti. Thomson declined to comment while Morton was unavailable.