Solicitor arrested on suspicion of theft and false accounting

Gardaí arrested a solicitor on Thursday on suspicion of theft and false accounting.

The man, who is in his 50s, is based in the Leinster region. Allegations of theft, false accounting, forgery and use of false instruments have been made against him.

The alarm was raised by clients of the solicitor who made specific allegations of theft against the man.

The Law Society then conducted an investigation into the solicitor’s activities that uncovered alleged deficits in his client account, which he attempted to cover up by submitted false documents purporting to show they no longer existed.

The Law Society brought the matter to the attention of the Garda and detectives attached to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) initiated their own investigation.

The man was detained at a Garda station in Leinster under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He was released without charge on Friday morning. Gardaí said a file would be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.