SRA v Olayemi Omobolanle Daniel

Summary: The Respondent Olayemi Omobolanle Daniel was sentences to four years’ imprisonment in June 2013 after convictions for money laundering and mortgage fraud.

The Respondent had acted for an individual who had purchased a number of properties from a development company and sold them onto buyers.

It became apparent that fraud had taken place in relation to the lender’s mortgage and that either the third-party purchaser was fictitious or there was a genuine purchaser who had not completed the mortgage forms.

Sanction: The Tribunal found that the Respondent’s conduct had been serious and had caused damage to the reputation of the profession. The Tribunal considered that a suspension was not sufficient to mark the seriousness of the misconduct and in order to maintain public confidence in the profession, concluded that the appropriate and proportionate sanction was to strike the Respondent’s name from the Roll of Solicitors.

The Respondent was struck off the Roll of Solicitors and ordered to pay costs of £2,406.40.