Money laundering

Though conveyancers have been at the sharp end of money laundering activity to date, it seems that litigators are now being targeted as well

Until now, it was thought that litigation was a less fertile area for laundering the proceeds of crime than conveyancing was: fraudsters had been setting up spurious property transactions in order to launder money, while litigation was considered a less risky area of law

Because conveyancers have become more and more strict over their anti-money laundering procedures, the criminals are apparently now setting up spurious debt collection and similar claims, in order to launder their money through lawyers’ firms

As a result, litigation solicitors will need to be as alert as conveyancers have become, to spot signs of suspicious activities and report them where appropriate

How soon will this apply to probate and matrimonial lawyers, too?