London lawyer forged letter and ‘tipped off’ client during Serious Fraud Office probe
A senior partner at London law firm Osmond & Osmond has been charged with forging a legal letter and tipping off a client over plans by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to launch an investigation under the proceeds of crime act.
Sixty-seven-year-old solicitor William Osmond – who founded London law firm Osmond & Osmond in 2002 – appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court today amid claims he “tipped off” a client by providing updates as to the contents of an SFO notice requiring documents to be handed over.
The solicitor allegedly tipped off his client regarding the SFO’s plans to launch an investigation, after the SFO issued him with a section 2 notice requiring him to disclose information regarding the client, the court heard.
According to the Law Society Gazette, John McGuinness QC told the court: “It is the prosecution case that, between 7 June and approximately five months later in November 2018, throughout that period the defendant tipped off his client by engaging in regular, frequent communication with him concerning the content of the section 2 notice.”
Osmond later handed over a letter of engagement which was “purported to be a copy of letter” from 2013, but had “in fact been created by My Osmond” in 2018, the prosecution said. Osmond was bailed and will appear in Southwark Crown Court on 11 April.