British lawyer sentenced for ‘tipping off’ Malta-based client about fraud probe
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A British lawyer was spared jail following his conviction for “tipping off” his client about a money laundering investigation, Britain’s fraud watchdog said.
William Osmond, 69, was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
Osmond was convicted earlier this month following a trial at London’s Old Bailey court of one charge of tipping off under the Proceeds of Crime Act and one charge of forgery. He had pleaded not guilty.
Osmond told his client James Ramsay in 2018 that the SFO had asked Osmond for information about Ramsay’s involvement in the 2013 purchase of an 8 million-pound ($10.1 million) London property.
He then provided a forged engagement letter to SFO investigators that falsely said he had been representing Ramsay’s company – which provided a 4 million-pound loan for the purchase – since 2013.
“This solicitor abused his trusted, professional status to knowingly break the law,” Matthew Wagstaff, joint head of fraud, bribery and corruption at the SFO, said in a statement.
“No one is above the law and we will pursue anyone who attempts to obstruct our investigations.”
A defence lawyer for Osmond could not immediately be contacted for comment.
Prosecutor James Waddington said at Osmond’s trial that the SFO was investigating the loan provided by Osmond’s client Ramsay as part of a wider probe involving ENRC.
Former FTSE 100 company ENRC was under investigation from 2013 in relation to alleged bribery to secure mining contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, before the probe was dropped without any charges in August.
ENRC, which is currently suing the SFO in relation to the investigation, had denied wrongdoing.
Osmond, the senior partner at London-based law firm Osmond & Osmond, was asked by the SFO to provide information about Ramsay and the purchase of the London property, which was linked to the daughter of one of ENRC’s founders, Waddington said.
However, Waddington added, Osmond regularly spoke to Ramsay about the SFO’s inquiries and travelled to Malta, where Ramsay was living, a week after he was first contacted by the SFO.
