Nexus Solicitors Limited, a Licensed Body, authorised and regulated by the SRA has agreed to pay a financial penalty in the sum of £31,217 for for failure to comply with money laundering regulations.
Nexus Solicitors Limited will pay the costs of the investigation of £600, under Rule 10.1 and Schedule 1 of the SRA Regulatory and Disciplinary Procedures Rules.
Their inspection and subsequent investigation identified areas of concern in relation to the firm’s compliance with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs 2017), the SRA Principles 2011, the SRA Code of Conduct 2011, the SRA Principles 2019 and the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms 2019.
When considering the appropriate sanctions and controls in this matter, the SRA has taken into account the admissions made by the firm and the following mitigation:
- The firm took steps to rectify its failings and started documenting appropriate CMRAs on files and, in doing so, is now compliant with the MLRs 2017.
- The firm undertook an independent audit to conduct a wholesale review of the firm’s AML control environment and acting upon the recommendations made within the audit output.
- The firm has cooperated with the SRA’s AML Proactive Supervision and AML Investigation teams.
- The Firm admitted the breaches listed above at the earliest opportunity
The SRA considers that a fine is the appropriate outcome in the public interest because it “creates a credible deterrent to others and the issuing of such sanction signifies the risk to the public, and the legal sector, that arises when solicitors do not comply with anti-money laundering legislation and their professional regulatory rules”.
