Anti-money laundering news 25/09/2009 Solicitor in bail link with money laundering is jailed

A retired solicitor was convicted and sentenced to four years jail for a number of offences, including accepting and paying bail securities into court on behalf of his client which he knew or suspected were proceeds of criminal activity.

The case of Anthony Blok, who was convicted in July 2009, demonstrates that solicitors may be susceptible to money laundering convictions while fulfilling their professional duties.

Blok, 72, of Fulham, London, was guilty of concealing criminal property under s327 Proceeds of Crime Act when he paid £75,000 in cash into court for the bail of his client who was arrested for money laundering.

Blok was representing a client who was on charges for fraud in relation to an international money laundering ring. He applied for bail for this client on a Friday, which was set at £75,000 in cash.

During the hearing, he called the clients daughter as a witness to provide evidence about the limited funds available to the family to meet the bail requirements.

On the following Monday, Blok deposited the £75,000 with the court cashier. The next day, police seized the cash from the bank where it had been deposited.

When questioned about the origins of the funds, Blok said he was given the funds outside the court by a man he did not know and he understood that the funds were raised by family and friends over the weekend.

However, CCTV footage at the court showed Blok meeting the clients daughter and another woman. They handed him two bags of money which he then took to the cashiers office.

The court accepted that in the circumstances it was not reasonable for that amount of money to have been raised legitimately in such a short time, and that the false story provided by Blok demonstrated that he knew or suspected that the funds were from a criminal source.

News « Jail for retired solicitor over money laundering and proceeds of crime link

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