SRA fines solicitor after firm’s client account was used for non-legal transactions
A London-based solicitor has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after causing a firm’s client account to be used as a banking facility in connection with a high-value international transaction.
Ian Insley, who worked as a consultant solicitor for Scott-Moncrieff and Associates Limited, was fined £9,941 following an SRA decision dated 29 October 2024. He was also ordered to pay £1,350 in costs. The outcome was published on 3 February 2026.
The disciplinary action arose from a forensic investigation carried out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in July 2023. The investigation examined the use of the firm’s client account in relation to a matter in which Mr Insley acted for a client based in the Russian Federation.
The SRA found that Mr Insley acted for the client in relation to the intended purchase of an asset valued at $22.5 million from a company located in Canada. The firm agreed to provide escrow services and general legal advice. However, neither Mr Insley nor the firm acted on the sale and purchase agreement for the asset, and there was no requirement for the firm to receive or make payments connected to the underlying transaction.
Despite this, between March and August 2021, three payments totalling $23,287,470.07 were received into the firm’s client account from the client. Between April and May 2021, Mr Insley caused three payments totalling $22,499,990.13 to be made from the client account to the company supplying the asset. Further payments of $525,000 and $262,438.46 were made to third parties in Germany and Estonia respectively, on the client’s instructions.
The SRA concluded that between October 2020 and October 2021, Mr Insley caused payments into and out of the firm’s client account which were not connected to the delivery of regulated legal services. This resulted in the client account being used to provide banking facilities, contrary to the SRA Accounts Rules 2019.
The regulator found that Mr Insley breached Rule 3.3 of the SRA Accounts Rules 2019 and Principle 2 of the SRA Principles 2019, which requires solicitors to act in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the profession.
In determining the sanction, the SRA said the conduct was serious due to the substantial sums involved and the absence of a proper connection between the legal services provided and the financial transactions. The regulator also noted that the conduct created a serious risk that the client account could have been used for money laundering, terrorist financing or other improper purposes.
Mr Insley’s conduct was assessed in conduct band C and placed in the mid-range of that band. The SRA said the fine reflected the seriousness of the misconduct and the need to maintain public confidence in the proper use of client accounts.