A conveyancing solicitor in Northern Ireland became the first solicitor to be jailed under proceeds of crime legislation last week for failing to alert police of his suspicions that his client was laundering money.

In a conviction that will serve as a warning to lawyers across the UK, Gavin David McCartan received an eight-month sentence.


He had pleaded guilty to failing to disclose information under the Proceeds of Crime Act Northern Ireland 1996 and using a false instrument under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.


An associate of McCartan's client showed the lawyer a bag containing £70,250 in cash as a deposit on a house purchase. McCartan never met his client, but admitted authenticating a document not signed in his presence.


The solicitor told police he believed his client could not come to the office because he had been involved in a car accident. In fact the client, a convicted armed robber, was on remand at the time.


The judge said solicitors are under a duty to tell police of their suspicions regarding money laundering - and large sums of cash for which there was no verifiable good reason should be grounds for suspicion.


Detective Sergeant Ronald McMurren, who led the investigation, said: 'Police will be using this case as a reminder that solicitors have a duty to act in a professional manner and may have to question further what clients they take on.'


Sue Bryson, deputy secretary of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, said the society had had no reason to intervene in McCartan's practice prior to the hearing. She added that he had pleaded guilty against the advice of his QC, who believed the Crown would have faced numerous difficulties had the case been fought.


Robin Booth, chairman of the Law Society of England and Wales money laundering task force, said: 'This case is certainly a warning that no solicitor can have a suspicion and fail to act properly by reporting it. A non face-to-face instruction and a large sum received in cash are hallmarks of a transaction that should make solicitors wary.'



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