Solicitor shamed over tax avoidance mess

Solicitor shamed over tax avoidance mess




A solicitor has been fined and rebuked after failing to provide lenders with vital information regarding conveyancing transactions.

A solicitor has been fined and rebuked after failing to provide lenders with vital information regarding conveyancing transactions.

Charles Richard Williams of 12 Clifton Road, St Woolos, Newport, Gwent, Wales, NP20 4EW, accepted charges of failing to disclose material information to his lender clients as well as acting in transactions where there was a conflict or significant risk of interest between clients.

Mr Williams was fined £2,000 and agreed to pay £5,000 towards the SRA’s costs, along with being rebuked for his breaches.

An inspection on FWD Law Ltd identified that the firm had acted in 103 conveyancing transactions where clients had been part of a scheme to avoid paying stamp duty.

The scheme saw HM Revenue and Customs lose out on £1,993,031.81.      

Within 95 transactions where the firm acted for both purchaser and lender, Mr Williams failed to inform the lenders that purchaser clients were using the Stamp Duty Land Tax Schemes to dodge stamp duty.

This resulted in lenders not having access to the required information to reach an informed decision in regards to the mortgage deal’s terms.  

Mr Williams has stopped his involvement in the SDLT scheme and has since retired from private practice after a period of ill health.

He maintains that he carried out the transactions in good faith and was unaware that he was doing anything wrong. He added that his intentions were to act in the best interest of his clients at all times.

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