Solicitor suspended after £30m client account used as illegal bank

William Osmond let his law firm funnel millions with no legal basis, triggering SFO raid and suspension.

 A solicitor arrested by the Serious Fraud Office has been suspended after allowing his firm to be used as a banking conduit for over £30 million in client funds—without any underlying legal work to justify it.

William Osmond, owner of Osmond Solicitors Ltd, admitted letting the firm’s client account act as a “banking facility” for the convenience of a single client, according to a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) judgment. The scale of the operation, spanning more than three years, prompted a full-blown fraud investigation and disciplinary action that could have ended his career.

Between May 2014 and October 2017, Osmond’s firm received £31.9 million into its client account in connection with just six matters linked to one individual, referred to only as Person A. Of that, £28.3 million was transferred out again to third parties, with no legal transactions supporting the movement of such vast sums.

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Osmond described Person A as “a substantial client” who contributed around 10% of the firm’s turnover. But alarm bells were raised when the SFO raided the firm, seizing a trove of hard copy files. This was followed by a forensic investigation commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The SDT judgment was damning. Osmond “caused or allowed” the payments, despite failing to question why such large amounts were being handled or what their purpose was. There was no evidence, the tribunal found, that Osmond ever challenged his client or conducted due diligence, even as the transactions continued over 39 months.

“He admitted continuing to authorise transactions… and to creating a clear risk of the firm facilitating money laundering,” the tribunal concluded.

While Osmond claimed he neither profited personally nor caused financial loss to clients or third parties, the SDT found this was no excuse for the egregious breach of trust and regulatory norms.

His mitigation—that he acted out of convenience rather than with criminal intent—did little to soften the tribunal’s view. Though the SDT acknowledged the misconduct warranted being struck off the roll entirely, it ultimately imposed a 12-month suspension paired with an indefinite restriction order.

That restriction means Osmond is barred from practising as a sole practitioner, sole manager or owner of any authorised or recognised law firm. He cannot act as a freelance solicitor or work within unregulated legal organisations. Additionally, he is banned from holding client money or being a signatory on any client account. Roles as a compliance officer or head of finance and legal practice are also off-limits.

The judgment sends a clear warning to the wider profession: client accounts are not personal banking services, and failure to conduct basic scrutiny can lead to career-ending consequences.

The SRA’s ongoing crackdown on firms misusing client money reflects growing unease over financial crime risks within the legal sector, especially in the wake of high-profile arrests and investigations. Osmond’s case, now under criminal scrutiny by the SFO, could yet escalate depending on the outcome of the fraud investigation.

Osmond’s solicitor firm remains under regulatory watch as authorities assess whether the £30m in questionable transactions form part of a wider laundering network or stand as a cautionary tale of reckless compliance failure.