Naomi Jane Barnes

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent was convicted at Harrow Crown Court on 23 December 2015 of acquiring criminal property (£36,000) and transferring criminal property (£8,000) under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, arising from funds her partner had stolen from his employer. She received a 6-month suspended sentence with 200 hours unpaid work. The Tribunal, relying on the Certificate of Conviction as conclusive proof, found she breached Principles 1, 2 and 6. The Tribunal found a lack of integrity (not dishonesty). Given the gravity, the suspended custodial sentence, and her lack of genuine insight or remorse, the Tribunal struck her off the Roll and ordered costs of £2,000.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Criminal conviction with suspended custodial sentence
• Deliberate conduct over a period of almost a year (1 June 2014 to 18 May 2015)
• A member of the public suffered financial loss (though mainly due to RC's conduct)
• Had undertaken anti-money laundering training and ought to have made proper enquiries
• No genuine insight or remorse expressed and no apology

Mitigating factors:

• Previously unblemished record
• Co-operated with the regulator
• Young and relatively inexperienced (qualified just over 4 years)
• Sentencing Judge found her culpability at the lesser end and her position more remote
• Had no direct contact with the victim company