Summary: The Respondent Olayemi Omobolanle Daniel was sentences to four years’ imprisonment in June 2013 after convictions for money laundering and mortgage fraud. The Respondent had acted for an individual who had purchased a number of properties from a development company and sold them onto buyers. It became apparent that fraud had taken place in […]

Summary: The Respondent failed to identify the indicators of property/mortgage fraud/money laundering further to the documented link between the buyer introducer and mortgage broker, and the payment of money on the introducer’s instructions to unknown and unidentified third parties. The SRA argued that the Respondent showed a reckless disregard for his money laundering obligations in […]

A Birmingham solicitor has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). Zia Latif, formerly of AKZ Solicitors, Alum Rock, was struck off at a hearing in a case brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). As well as being struck off, he was ordered to pay £22,500 costs. Latif admitted all the allegations […]

The Law Society’s practice note highlights the warning signs of mortgage fraud and outlines how you can protect yourself and your firm from being used to commit mortgage fraud. The following is an extract What is the issue? Criminals will exploit weaknesses in lending and conveyancing systems to gain illegitimate financial advantage from the UK […]

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported (18 September 2014) that mortgage lenders had their strongest August in six years, with lending reaching £18.6 billion in August, heights which have not been reached since August 2008 (and look what followed…). That said recent press coverage indicates a slowing up – this may be as a […]

Serious Organised Crime Agency v Pelekanos [2009] EWHC 2307 (QB) This was a case in which Court rejected SOCA’s claims that the defendant was guilty of money laundering and drug trafficking. However, the defendant was found guilty of a number of counts of deliberately providing false information about his income on mortgage application forms. The […]

Scots boxing promoter Barry Hughes has been jailed for 43 months for mortgage fraud and money laundering offences- Hughes admitted his guilt after more than two and a half years of court proceedings The 35-year-old had admitted illegally obtaining £1.2m for two mortgages and laundering £150,000 and using some of the cash to buy a […]