Convicted money launderer and ex-solicitor Dale Robert Walker, 64, has satisfied a confiscation order after a member of his family paid £33,500 outstanding from £716,719 he was ordered to repay due to his criminal activities relating to an investment scheme.

Mr Walker was jailed in 2015 following one of the FCA's biggest investigations, Operation Cotton, which led to eight convictions and confiscation orders totalling almost £2.2m.

Mr Walker was sentenced to a further 62 days in prison in February for failing to fully pay an order in connection with his involvement in an Unauthorised Collective Investment Scheme (UCIS).

He was originally convicted of money laundering in April 2015 and sentenced to five and a half years’ in prison. He was also convicted of aiding and abetting the carrying on of an unauthorised regulated activity in the UK without authorisation or exemption.

In an update to the case, the FCA said Mr Walker had now fully satisfied his confiscation order.

From 2008 to 2011, Mr Walker helped to source land and undertook conveyancing, registration and consultancy services for plots sold to investors as part of an unauthorised collective investment scheme (UCIS).

This scheme defrauded investors out of more than £4.25m and, on occasions, Mr Walker received money from investors into his solicitor’s client account.  

In February 2017, a confiscation order was made to force Mr Walker to refund more than £887,000 of criminal proceeds. It was later varied to £716,719. The judge warned Mr Walker that he could serve up to three and a half years more in prison if he failed to pay.

In May 2023, Mr Walker unsuccessfully argued that he had no more assets or monies to pay the amount outstanding, which at that time stood at £38,750.

Although Mr Walker did pay some further money by instalment, on 23 February he was sentenced to 62 days in prison by City of London Magistrates’ Court for wilful and neglectful failure to pay the remaining £33,500. On 29 February, the money was finally paid on behalf of Mr Walker by a family member.

Steve Smart, FCA joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Confiscation proceedings are a key tool in our work to ensure those who use their professional position to take advantage of others do not succeed in their criminal efforts at self-enrichment. 

“We welcome the court’s decision to impose a further custodial sentence on Mr Walker, sending a clear message that non-payment is a serious matter and that the courts will use all appropriate tools to enforce these orders. It’s clear that this did finally persuade Mr Walker to find the means to pay.”

Mr Walker’s sentence of 62 days reflected a reduction from the original three and a half years due to the amount of money already paid.