By John Hyde2021-05-14T11:35:00+01:00
A former probate manager has been banned from the profession after wrongly accepting a £20,000 gift from a 92-year-old client.
A decision notice from the SRA stated that Ben Moore, an employee with Yorkshire firm Ramsdens, had been instructed by the client in 2016 to draft a will and subsequently on three further matters.
Almost two years later, this client gave Moore a cheque for £20,000, which he accepted without informing the firm, in breach of its anti-bribery and corruption policy.
In 2019, West Yorkshire investigated allegations of financial abuse by third parties against the client: Moore told the police about the gift although he was not a suspect in the investigation and faced no charges in respect of it. But the police did report the matter to the SRA, who investigated and informed the firm. A disciplinary panel of Ramsdens concluded that Moore’s actions constituted serious misconduct and his employment was terminated.