A lawyer has been slammed for failing to keep tabs on his business partner who was struck off over a mortgage fraud case.
Inspectors found Stephen McGuire breached money laundering rules and didn’t flag up suspicious activity in his firm’s accounts.
McGuire was censured and fined £1000 after he was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Scottish Solicitors’
Discipline Tribunal (SSDT).
Two years ago the Sunday Mail told how his colleague Alistair Bowie was struck off by the same body after a probe. The men were partners in law firm Hennessy Bowie and Company in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow.
Bowie acted for a pensioner who was a victim of £1.6million mortgage fraudster Edwin McLaren. McLaren was jailed for 11 years in 2017.
The SSDT ruled Bowie had “failed to act honestly”, saying he should have taken steps to avoid his client being conned.
McGuire, 54, was in charge of cashroom activities at Hennessy Bowie and serious failings were found during inspections of the accounts between 2013 and 2016.
McGuire’s solicitor William Macreath said his client now plans to wind up the legal practice or sell it.
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