Solicitors are being targeted by organised criminals during property purchases as it emerged red flags over home transactions surged 66% in two years, according to anti-money laundering and big data specialists Fortytwo Data.

Nearly four in ten (37%) of all Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) across the entire legal sector relate to either residential or commercial conveyancing. Property purchases provide cover for those attempting to hide dirty money because of the large sums involved.

Research by Fortytwo Data reveals that of the 506 SARs in the legal profession between 2014 to 2017, residential house purchases accounted for 158 red flags. Latest figures show a 66% increase in residential conveyancing SARs from 2014 to 2017.

A further 31 SARs were raised during the purchase of commercial properties between 2014 and 2017, figures obtained from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) show.

SARs are alerts submitted to the National Crime Agency that flag up suspicious activity indicative of money laundering.

Around two-thirds of cases of wrongdoing are serious enough to be referred to Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the SRA revealed. Last month it launched a new Flag It Up campaign aimed at lawyers.

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