Three solicitors jailed on money laundering charges

Three former solicitors have been jailed on charges related to money laundering.

Ian Robertson, Alastair Blackwood and David Lyons were found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow, along with Mohammed Aziz and Robert Ferguson, of being involved in serious organised crime and/or offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. They allowed nearly £1.5m of “dirty money” to be channelled through Robertson's firm, Robertson & Ross in Paisley, of which he was the money laundering reporting officer.

The offences, which took place in 2015 and 2016, came to light following a Law Society of Scotland investigation. The money laundered, in four transactions, included £985,000 from the hacked bank account of an unnamed millionaire football club owner, which was diverted to a client account at Robertson & Ross.

The Crown case was that Robertson’s role was to manage the money through the client account and pay it out to others so as to make transactions appear legitimate. In his defence he claimed he had been duped and that his firm had been targeted.

All five accused denied the charges but were found guilty just before Christmas following a trial. Sentence was passed yesterday.

Robertson (69) received the longest sentence. Lyons and Aziz, the other two found guilty of the serious organised crime charge, were each sentenced to seven years, as was Blackwood, who was told by judge Lord Richardson that he had also been involved in crimes of "a very grave nature". Ferguson received 16 months.

Lord Richardson told Robertson, Lyons and Aziz that they had “collectively formed a crucial link to a web of criminality that spread across the UK”. In Robertson’s case he had “undermined the very trust which underpins legal practice and commerce to take place”.