Solicitor struck off for long-term failure to do source-of-funds checks on £8.8 million of conveyancing funds
11/08/2025
The Respondent was a solicitor who operated as a sole practitioner at William Harris Solicitors.
As the sole owner and manager of his firm, he held direct personal responsibility for compliance, including roles as Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP), Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA), Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), and Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO).
His firm’s primary practice areas were residential conveyancing (56%) and probate (25%), which are identified as high-risk areas for money laundering.
The core of the proceedings concerned the Respondent’s widespread and fundamental failures to comply with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of 5 Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs 2017) and the SRA Accounts Rules over six years.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has struck off and ordered a sole practitioner to pay costs of almost GBP30,000.00 for:
- Failing to carry out source-of-funds and wealth checks on GBP8.8 million of conveyancing funds for 63 clients.
- Incorrectly claiming to have had a firm-wide risk assessment in place.
Also
- Clients had suffered actual harm through being deprived of over GBP100,000.00 in residual balances for the six years of his sole practice, said the SDT,
Source:
Law Society Gazette https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/solicitor-who-handled-88m-in-unverified-funds-struck-off/5124158.article
SDT https://solicitorstribunal.org.uk/case/12738/ + https://solicitorstribunal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/12738-2025-Harris-AO.pdf
The Team
Meet the team of industry experts behind Comsure
Find out moreLatest News
Keep up to date with the very latest news from Comsure
Find out moreGallery
View our latest imagery from our news and work
Find out moreContact
Think we can help you and your business? Chat to us today
Get In TouchNews Disclaimer
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.