Lawyers and client accounts: sand through a colander

摘要

Purpose – To report empirical information about the scale of suspicious money movements through solicitors. Design/methodology/approach – Review of selected criminal, civil and disciplinary cases. Findings – The cases disclose at least £240 million moving through solicitors' hands in the absence of an underlying transaction in which the solicitor is providing legal advice. Originality/value – A contribution to: the empirical data about laundering; raising the possibility of better control by regulatory rules about how lawyers hold and transfer money.