A lawyer from West Vancouver, B.C., has been suspended and fined over his involvement in a number of questionable transactions, said the Law Society of B.C.
The society found Donald Franklin Gurney committed professional misconduct between May and November of 2013 by using his trust account to receive and disburse a total of nearly $26 million for a corporate client without making reasonable inquiries about the circumstances.
Gurney’s lawyer said he did nothing wrong, but the society said there was no way to tell if the money was being laundered because the funds were being held in his trust account.
The society has ordered Gurney be suspended for six months starting in November and must surrender the $25,845 he was paid for the use of his trust account so he doesn't benefit financially from his misconduct.