Solicitor struck off for using brother’s drug money to pay off mortgage

A solicitor who used proceeds from his brother’s drug dealing to clear his mortgage has been struck off the roll.

Paul Simon Green, admitted as a solicitor in 2008, was removed from the profession after receiving a 26-month prison sentence last year for using criminal funds to service and pay off his home loan.

At the time of the offending, Green was working as a litigator at Surrey firm Barlow Robbins (now Moore Barlow) before later becoming a partner at a London practice.

According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Green obtained a Santander mortgage to buy a property, declaring himself the sole beneficial owner and confirming that he alone would meet the repayments.

It later emerged that his brother, James Alexander Green, not only lived at the address but had contributed to both the purchase and the mortgage instalments. Between 2010 and 2015, James is said to have paid £50,000 into Paul’s bank account.

A statement previously released by the South East Cyber Crime Unit indicated that at least £166,000 in criminal funds was used to pay down the mortgage, which was redeemed around ten years early.

James financed the payments through criminal activity and was jailed for six years on five counts. These included offences similar to his brother’s, supplying cannabis, concealing criminal property – including £341,547 in cash, a silver ingot and watches – and possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply in 2019.

The court rejected Paul Green’s claim that he did not understand the source of the money. The judge said he had been closely involved in what was happening and, whether out of misguided loyalty or otherwise, knew more than he was willing to admit.

Green did not contest the SRA’s decision, and the strike-off was finalised by way of an agreed outcome.