Property firm fined £22k for money laundering failures
A property law firm in Manchester has been handed a fine of nearly £22,000 for failures in anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, towards the top end of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) powers. The fine represented 2.4% of the firm’s turnover, with the SRA acknowledging that “there was no evidence that actual harm had materialised”. According to an SRA notice, an inspection in early 2023 identified various areas of concern surrounding the firm’s compliance with the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations. This led to an investigation that found that GD Legal, which handles both residential and commercial property work, did not have…