Ross Ian McKay

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

Solicitor Ross Ian McKay was convicted on 21 December 2018 of two counts under section 328(1) and one count under section 327 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (money laundering) and sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment. The offences related to assisting clients in developing a property portfolio based on fraudulently obtained funds (over £1m) and, later, conversion of criminal property from a convicted drug dealer while acting as in-house solicitor. He admitted breaching Principles 1, 2 and 6. The Tribunal, dealing with the matter on the papers via an agreed outcome, struck him off the Roll and ordered costs of £1,450. No express finding of dishonesty was recorded (findings were of failure to act with integrity and abuse of position of trust).

Duties found breached:

• No abuse of process or coercive powers
• No taking unfair advantage
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Breaches of the law took place over a lengthy period
• Misconduct he knew or ought reasonably to have known was in material breach of obligations
• Convicted of three serious offences with a 7 year custodial sentence

Mitigating factors:

• Early admissions in the proceedings
• Accepted that strike off was the appropriate sanction