SOLICITORS ARE SUSPECTS IN LAUNDERING DRUG MONEY

LAWYERS in at least 60 firms are suspected by detectives and customs
officers of laundering millions of pounds of dirty money for criminals.

They include up to half a dozen of the biggest firms. Some are under
investigation and intelligence on others is being gathered by specialist
officers within the National Criminal Intelligence Service.

The suspect transactions are part of the hundreds of millions of pounds
generated each year by drug trafficking which acounts for more than 70 per
cent of all organised crime in Britain.

Apart from British criminals, gangsters from east Europe, the Italian Mafia
and South American drug traffickers are all known to launder cash through
Britain.

NCIS acts as the co-ordinating centre for material on laundering and passes
information to forces and squads for investigation. Information is coming
from banks, from disclosures on suspect transactions required by law,
intelligence from abroad and material uncovered by detectives during
investigations into criminals. In some cases solicitors are giving
information about rivals.

One detective said : "People are still walking into a solicitor, buying a
house and giving him cash. A solicitor should declare this but he may err on
the side of client confidentiality because there is a lot of money to be
made."

In some cases the criminals have invested in legitimate businesses such as
restaurants, clubs and shops. The lawyers can then claim they are only
dealing with "clean cash".

Others, including senior partners in some of the big firms, may suspect but
say nothing because they would lose a client. Police say unscrupulous
lawyers could charge 0.5 per cent commission on cash they move.

Small local firms and regional firms are also an ideal cover for gangs
because they believe police efforts will be concentrated on London. At least
one seemingly innocuous small country practice is under suspicion.

Police say the companies can offer a raft of services to help clients to
move their cash out of view of prying eyes. All firms operate client
accounts in which they hold cash and the solicitors can move this money with
few questions.

Solicitors can also set up off-shore accounts hidden behind "off the shelf"
companies created in a matter of days.

Checked-by: Don Beck