Solicitors turning blind eye to Money Laundering, and fraud.

Pennylane

A reminder that some people with dementia can carry on a fairly normal life. They can still drive, carry out their business, socialise, read and write etc.  My Mum had dementia for 4 years before she died and her deterioration was thankfully slow.  She could still make decisions, she enjoyed reading although her handwriting deteriorated and a year before she died she was still able to write  poems herself with someone writing her words down. 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/legal-issues/

Ibrahim5

Solicitors are the biggest crooks around. Just think of all the scandals they get involved in. "Have you been on holiday recently. Did you get food poisoning. Free cash if you say yes". Whiplash injuries. VW emissions claims. The list goes on. The bigger question is "do they do anything useful?"

TBagpuss

Armorica said:

I'm fairly sure it's a criminal offence for banks to tell you that something is money laundering. And this really doesn't sound like money laundering - there is a legitimate source of funds even if obtained through deception and seriously suspicious behaviour (like multiple smaller payments).

The SRA sounds one way to go. But you will need to provide clear and coherent information. And it's not really clear if your solicitor is in the wrong - or whether you're disagreeing with the advice being given and not following the appropriate channels for things to progress.
As others have said, your solicitor doesn't have a right to get bank statements and call recordings. The right to obtain such information would need to be sought through the courts e.g. a civil proceeding your solicitor brought on your behalf, or criminal proceedings brought by the police or other authorities.

There are potential criminal offences if they 'tip off' the person or people involves in money-laundering, so I'd expect them to have policies about not sharing that information. 

I suppose technically the relatives might be money laundering at the point that they pay the money into another account, if the funds were stolen as at that point they would technically be the proceeds of crime,, but it doesn't look as though they tried to hide the source of the money, the issue would seem to be whether or not the money was stolen or misused, or whether it was a gift from Auntie (which presumably is what the relatives have claimed / will claim) and if so, whether she had capacity to make any such gift.

OP< if the solicitors are acting for you then I suggest that you contact them and ask them to explain clearly what steps they are taking, and why they haven't done the other things you wanted them to. It's possible that there are good reasons and the issue is miscommunication.

Obviously if you have said to the SRA that you think they are involved in money laundering then of course the SRA is going to ask you for more details because it's a vey serious allegation, but it doesn't sound, from what you say, as though that it is the case at all. It sounds as though the issue is that they are not, in your view, taking the steps you want them to in relation to a third party's actions , which is very very different to them being involved in money laundering. 

That said, it sounds as though you don't trust them so you may be better off changing to a different solicitor.

Are the solicitors you are using expert in contentious probate? 

Voyager2002

Rosiebow said:

The bank spoke to my auntie who told them she never wrote these cheques, my auntie failed security, and the fraud department said that they can tell my auntie has dementia. Because my Auntie has sadly died, i am not allowed to hear this message between the three of us on the phone. I need them to release it so i can give it to the police.

Have you already gone to the police?

If the police investigate and you tell them about this recording, they can get it themselves from the bank: no need for you to obtain it and give it to them.

PJS2009

Going through similar with my brother who had Power of attorney for my mother with dementia. Kept saying everything was with probate solicitor since October 2019, wouldn't hand over any accounts or receipts, I managed to get my mothers Barclays statements and he had been transferring and withdrawing cash to himself all in all well over 100k to himself!  Have reported it to the police and they are taking it seriously. If these executors are under police investigation they can't be executors.  Police have changed their attitudes to financial abuse against people with dementia. The police have more powers than solicitors and regard it as theft.
Feel your pain for all the stress that this has caused you.

Rosiebow

I have asked the bank what it looks like to them ( Bank statements) They have said it looks like FRAUD. But they are deciding if it is a family dispute or fraud ?  How can it be a family dispute, my great auntie had dementia at the time of all this going on, she even spoke to the Fraud department on the phone telling them she did not give anyone this large amount of money, now the fraud dept have said that they do not have the recording from 2017 with this vital info on.? If my auntie could not even change her tv channel over properly or get dresses by her self, carers had to clean and dress her, due to her dementia, then how can the banks try and say its a family dispute. It is Fraud, a lady who was 96 at the time, with dementia, would not of moved money around as the executors have done. x7 lots of £10,000.00, some on the same day, x3, then next day x4 lots of ten thousand. From my aunties closed account, into my aunties open account. If my great auntie was able / and did do this, which she didnt, she would of done just one transfere over. into a different account, then the next day draw out the same money but in x3 cheques with x3 days between.  The executors are saying now that my great auntie wanted them to have all the money because they looked after her more than we did...lol...  If my great auntie wanted them to have all the money, then why have the executors done such dodgy transactions in trying to hide this money in smaller amounts. My solicitor seems to just want us to go to mediation ? He even said it was time to mediate when we hadn't seen all this fraud, or seen what my auntie was worth. We are waiting for the Land Mark asset searches to come back, so we can see what other bank accounts that the executors are hiding from us. But our solicitor is saying he thinks we need to settle and go to mediation...Is he nuts, or does he know something that we dont ? He seems to be on their side, he will not answer any of my questions, or show me any emails between him and their solicitor ? He just keeps changing the subject. Something has happened behind our backs we feel, i have spoken to another solicitor who said it feels like the solicitors have came to some sort of deal, which happens all the time...But..You have not been involved, because they feel you may say no way, also they are hoping to swing the case the way they want it to go.   Thank you for all advise, feeling so let down, paid over £10,000.00, double what the solicitor said it would cost. Feeling like even the solicitor has done us, we are looking for new solicitor, but worried they will be the same. 

GrumpyDil

These are really horrible complex situations. My scenario cost me just shy of 20000 in legal fees.

As it involved a change to an existing will it was arguably a little less complex and I tend to think there was some money that went missing but after five years odd I was ready to settle. I also think that there may have been a little push to settle as part of the investigation suggested that certain other solicitors had failed to follow their conduct rules correctly.

I'd suggest trying mediation, both because you may get to a settlement position and because if you don't you can show you tried.