The Solicitors Regulation Authority has imposed one of its biggest fines against a law firm after another case where anti money-laundering measures were not up to scratch.
GD Legal, which has its head office in Greater Manchester, was fined £21,843 for failing to have in place the right documents as required by money laundering regulations.
The firm has carried out conveyancing work since 2019 and last year was subject to an inspection from the SRA.
The regulator identified various areas of concern with the firm’s risk assessment and policies, controls and procedures, with a subsequent referral to the specialist AML team.
It was found that from 2019 the firm had failed to have compliant documents in place and breached three SRA principles.
The SRA said the firm’s conduct was serious given the high proportion of its work coming from conveyancing. Breaches of the rules lasted for longer than was reasonable and had the potential to cause harm to the public interest and confidence in the profession.
In mitigation, the firm had co-operated with the SRA, taken remedial action, and there was no evidence that actual harm had materialised.
GD Legal was ordered to pay 2.4% of its annual domestic turnover and costs of £1,350.
