11th Nov 2013 Solicitor faces being struck off for turning blind eye Share A Liverpool lawyer who turned a blind eye to money laundering faces being struck off by the solicitors’ watchdog.Andrew Tidd, 52, will appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal accused of “failure to uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice”.The solicitor, who worked for Yaffe Jackson Ostrin in Tuebrook was convicted of failing to report suspicions of money laundering last year. He had acted as solicitor for Nevzat Kocabey, 50, who bought a house from East Lancashire fraudster Mohammed Khatana in 2007 using proceeds of crime cash.Tidd was instructed in the £105,000 purchase of Hawks House Gardens, Brierfield, near Burnley, despite it being investigated by detectives under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The lawyer was also enlisted to secure the purchase of a £72,500 house in Lemon Grove, Toxteth. Police enquiries revealed Kocabey had using dirty money to pay the £26,000 deposits on both properties.Tidd, of Hatfield Gardens, Warrington, was given a four-month suspended prison sentence by Burnley Crown Court.He was then investigated by the Solictors Regulation Authority on allegations of misconduct.The SRA confirmed it had now referred the case to the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which has the power to ban Tidd from practising.The watchdog said there “is a case to answer” on allegations Tidd “failed to uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice” and “failed to act with integrity and behaved in a way that is likely to diminish the trust the public places in him”.The SRA added: “The allegations are subject to a hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and are as yet unproven.“ Kocabey, 50, of Lemon Grove, Toxteth, was found guilty of two counts of transferring criminal property in August last year following a three-year investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (TITAN).He was jailed for two years.Khatana, 51, of Brierfield, Nelson, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to 15 counts of fraud.No date has yet been set for Tidd’s tribunal hearing. by SmartSearch See more articles by SmartSearch Share post See our other popular articles 18th Apr 2024 Fighting FinCrime in financial services: optimising the balance between innovation and compliance by SmartSearch 14th Feb 2023 ‘Failure to prevent’ fraud, false accounting or money laundering could soon be a punishable offence by SmartSearch 2nd Feb 2023 SmartSearch COO named Technology Businesswoman of the Year at national award by SmartSearch See more
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