A lawyer who was jailed for a £1.5million money laundering operation has been made bankrupt with debts of almost £100,000. Alastair Blackwood, 68, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in the dirty money scheme, which included the hacking of a football club owner's bank account.
The cash was funnelled through the client account of Paisley-based law firm Robertson & Ross, where Blackwood and colleague Iain Robertson were company directors. Robertson, 70, was jailed for eight years for his part in the fraud and three other men also received prison sentences for their involvement.
It has now emerged Blackwood, who is serving his sentence in Shotts Prison in Lanarkshire, applied for bankruptcy after running up debts of £96,907. It was approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy - Scotland's insolvency service - last week.
A trustee will now be appointed to recover money for creditors but Blackwood, from Dunlop, Ayrshire, has claimed he has no remaining assets. It has not been revealed who he owes the money to as his bankruptcy did not go through the courts.
The men were jailed in January at the High Court in Glasgow after being convicted of fraud and multiple charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act following a nine-week trial. The charges spanned between 2015 and 2016.
The trial was sparked after a Law Society of Scotland probe uncovered a conspiracy involving forged papers, fake identities and stolen cheques. The case focused on four separate money laundering transactions.
The biggest theft involved the bank account of a multi-millionaire businessman - who is the owner of a UK football club - being targeted. Jurors heard how £985,000 was swiped and ended up in the client account of the Paisley law firm.
The other frauds included a £79,340 stolen cheque due to be paid to a law firm in Jersey and a £240,000 profit from a house sale in London. Fake papers and fake IDs "including a passport and driver's licence" were collated in a bid to cover up the crimes.
Following the sentencing, David Gordon, Convener of the Law Society of Scotland Regulatory Committee, said: "In this case the Law Society acted to protect clients when serious issues were identified at Paisley law firm Roberton and Ross. The Society suspended two solicitors at the firm from practice and successfully petitioned the Court of Session to appoint a judicial factor to protect the firm's clients and the public interest.
"Money laundering harms individuals, communities and society and is linked to crimes that cause human misery and suffering from people trafficking, to illegal drugs and gun smuggling. This outcome in court highlights the importance of taking swift action and ensuring that concerns were reported to the authorities."
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