Dishonesty impacted thousands
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has fined the former owner of a law firm nearly £4 million — a record financial penalty for the regulator.
Nurul Miah, who is not a solicitor, owned the firm Kingly Solicitors — which had 16 high street branches across the country. Miah was an “experienced professional in financial services” who exercised “considerable control” over the firm, according to the regulator.
In 2020 Kingly was shut down, as news broke that client money had gone missing. A court later heard that Miah had spent more than £350,000 from client funds on a Ferrari and an Aston Martin, according reports at the time. “Despite the return of some funds, a shortfall of approximately £10 million remained at Kingly,” the SRA says.
The fallout was huge. Clients were thrown into limbo, with over 90,000 deeds and wills secured by the SRA. Some 180 staff lost their jobs as Kingly went into liquidation, with warnings creditors could lose up to £17 million. Seven legal staff were awarded £37,000 by a tribunal in 2021 for unfair dismissal.
Now, the SRA says investigations have uncovered 310 improper transfers from client accounts to companies linked to Miah, for “inappropriate purposes” — like loan repayments and “to buy assets unrelated to the business”. On top of that, the regulator uncovered “forged statements attempting to conceal these unauthorised transactions”.
As a result, Miah has been ordered to pay almost £4 million, a fine higher than any other in the SRA’s history, plus costs. The regulator says this is proportionate and will serve as a “credible deterrent”. Miah is also barred from working in a law firm.
The SRA also says it has reported findings and supporting evidence to “the relevant law enforcement authorities”.
Others in the Kingly leadership were also sanctioned by the SRA, including two further non-solicitors. Lalou Tifrit assisted Miah as a “consultant” and has been disqualified from working in a firm without SRA permission, plus ordered to pay £28,230 in costs.
Colin Buckingham, another non-solicitor, is barred from working as a firm head of finance and administration without SRA permission, along with being ordered to pay £1,350 in costs.
One solicitor, Simon Hutcheson, has been subject to “practice restrictions” since 2023. He has now also been fined £26,766 plus ordered to pay £1,350 in costs.
In a statement, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said:
“This is the largest fine we have ever issued. Mr Miah’s dishonesty impacted thousands of people. We stepped in to safeguard their interests — closing the firm, securing files and returning money to clients. This action concludes our investigations. We have been making sure that law enforcement are being provided with all the relevant evidence. Meanwhile, we continue to review how best to protect client funds, with further steps to be announced later this year.”
Previously, no fines have ever even reached £1 million. Both the high fine and non-lawyer leadership was made possible because Kingly Solicitors was an alternate business structure firm, with different rules.
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