Why Did the FCA Ban Nurul Miah?
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has banned Nurul Miah, also known as Neil Mia and Neil Miah, from working in financial services after regulators found that more than £28 million had been improperly transferred from client accounts at collapsed law firm Kingly Solicitors.
The FCA said Miah lacked the honesty and integrity required to work in regulated financial services. Its action follows findings by the Solicitors Regulation Authority that he dishonestly caused or allowed client money to be moved without authorization between April 2019 and July 2020.
Miah was the owner and a non-lawyer manager of Kingly, an alternative business structure that expanded rapidly through acquisitions before the SRA shut it down in August 2020.
The legal regulator identified 310 improper transfers from Kingly client accounts to companies linked to Miah. The money was used for purposes including repaying loans and buying assets unrelated to the law firm’s business. Investigators also found forged statements used in attempts to conceal unauthorized transactions.
More than £10 million remained missing after some funds were returned. The SRA said the shortfall did not appear capable of being rectified.
How Large Was the Kingly Solicitors Collapse?
Kingly had grown to 16 offices and around 180 employees by 2020 after acquiring law firms across the UK. It traded under several established local names, including Austin Ray, Coles, Hughmans, Giffen Couch & Archer and Richard Herne & Co.
The business had previously operated as RH Legal and began expanding through acquisitions around 2016. It received its alternative business structure licence in April 2017, with Miah serving as owner and manager from April 2017 until July 2020.
When the SRA intervened, it secured £22.5 million in client money and took control of 220,000 files across Kingly’s operations, including more than 90,000 wills and deeds.
The collapse became one of the largest calls on the SRA compensation fund. Kingly accounted for more than £10 million of compensation payments in the 2020/21 financial year. Total compensation payments across all interventions rose to £26.9 million that year from £10.4 million in 2019/20.
Investor Takeaway
The FCA action shows how misconduct established outside the financial sector can still affect an individual’s ability to hold regulated financial-services roles. Previous FCA approval does not prevent the regulator from reassessing fitness and propriety when later evidence raises questions over honesty and integrity.
What Sanctions Had Miah Already Faced?
The FCA prohibition adds to sanctions already imposed by the SRA. In September 2024, the legal regulator ordered Miah to pay £3,984,440 plus £41,670 in costs and disqualified him from holding several roles at SRA-regulated law firms. The decision was published in May 2025.
The penalty was the largest fine imposed by the SRA.
Kingly’s failure also left substantial commercial liabilities. Liquidation documents reported almost £17 million owed to unsecured creditors, while only about £327,000 was initially expected to remain available for distribution after secured and preferential claims. Creditors included HM Revenue & Customs, trade suppliers and connected companies.
The SRA said it provided its findings and supporting evidence concerning Miah to relevant law enforcement authorities.
Why Did the FCA Have Jurisdiction Over the Case?
The FCA’s involvement stems from Miah’s separate history in regulated financial services. He received FCA approval in 2016 to perform senior management functions at Oracle Consultants Ltd, a business unrelated to Kingly Solicitors.
Companies House records show that Miah became a director of Oracle Consultants on December 2, 2016, and remained in the role until February 12, 2024. The company is now in liquidation.
That previous regulatory approval allowed the FCA to assess whether the conduct later established by the SRA was compatible with the standards required of people working in financial services.
The FCA concluded that it was not. Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight Therese Chambers said Miah’s dishonest use of client money demonstrated that he had “no place in financial services.”
The prohibition means Miah is now barred from regulated financial-services activities covered by the FCA’s order in addition to restrictions already imposed in the legal sector.
The latest action comes more than six years after the SRA first closed Kingly. The subsequent investigation established 310 improper transfers, more than £28 million moved without authorization, a shortfall exceeding £10 million and forged documentation used to conceal transactions. Those findings ultimately resulted in both a record SRA financial penalty and Miah’s exclusion from the UK financial-services industry.
