Fraud Issues
We work with other departments within the Society, and with external stakeholders, to help prevent Scottish law firms being used to commit or facilitate fraud. Solicitors may be targeted to help legitimise a transaction or because money passed through the firm’s accounts will be viewed as ‘clean’ by other organisations. As part of the Financial Compliance inspection process, the team helps firms identify and manage areas of risk, and provides advice on common fraud issues.
The most common frauds to which solicitors will be exposed are property transactions involving a loan. You should check the Journal regularly for advice on current schemes and further advice can be found here: Identifying Mortgage Fraud.
Even in transactions where you act on behalf of the seller, where there is no lender, or that do not appear to involve transfer of property, you should bear in mind possible fraud implications and, in particular, the various offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Please go to the Professional Practice Issues page for further advice or contact the Professional Practice Department on 0131 476 8124.
The Society is a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel, whose role is to raise awareness of fraud issues and to help individuals and organisations develop effective strategies to mitigate the risk of fraud. Guidance documents issued by the Fraud Advisory Panel can be downloaded in .pdf format from the menu on the right.
The Society also works with the Scottish Business Crime Centre, which provides strategic advice on business crime prevention and reduction.
Updated: August 2010
