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Collapsed Sheffield law firm at centre of £39.5m fraud probe
The regulator says 92 claims worth £9.31 million have been paid, while it works to return funds and files to former clients.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is investigating the collapse of Sheffield-based PM Law, which shut down on February 2 amid allegations of a "sophisticated suspected fraud" involving the "improper removal and misuse" of £39.5 million in client funds.
PM Law operated 11 companies and over 30 trading names, including Butterworths Solicitors, with 25 offices across the UK and employed over 600 staff before its sudden closure left hundreds jobless.
As of April 17, the SRA has paid 92 claims worth £9.31 million from its compensation fund to former clients, while returning £6.8 million in recovered firm assets and 9,300 files to affected individuals.
The SRA processed 25,000 emails and 17,000 inquiries during what it described as one of its most complex interventions; Paul Hastings, the SRA's director of client protection, said: "We are continuing to do all we can to support former clients."
South Yorkshire Police is reviewing information from Report Fraud, a service run by City of London Police, regarding the allegations as authorities work "to determine next steps and the most appropriate agency to take this forward.