FCA Bans Ex-Kingly Solicitors Owner Nurul Miah From Financial Services

The Financial Conduct Authority announced on 15 September 2026 that it has banned Nurul Miah, also known as Neil Mia and Neil Miah, from working in financial services. The FCA acted after the Solicitors Regulation Authority found that Miah, a non-legal manager at Kingly Solicitors Limited, dishonestly caused or allowed more than £28 million of client money to be taken from client accounts without permission between April 2019 and July 2020, and that more than £10 million of client money was missing and had been used by Miah for his own benefit.

In a Final Notice dated 15 September 2026, the FCA made an order under section 56 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 prohibiting Miah from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity carried on by an authorised person, exempt person or exempt professional firm, and withdrew, under section 63 of the Act, his approval to perform the SMF3 Executive Director senior management function at Oracle Consultants Ltd. Both Oracle and Kingly are in liquidation.

The FCA gave Miah a Decision Notice on 3 August 2026 notifying him of the intended action. Miah did not refer the matter to the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) within 28 days of the date the Decision Notice was given to him, and the withdrawal and prohibition order took effect from the date of the Final Notice. The decision was made by a Deputy Chair of the Regulatory Decisions Committee, a committee whose members are separate from FCA staff involved in conducting investigations and recommending action against firms and individuals.

The FCA’s action followed a decision by an SRA Adjudication Panel on 11 September 2024. Following an investigation, the panel found that between 9 April 2019 and 23 July 2020, while acting as Kingly’s owner, Miah dishonestly caused or allowed over £28 million of client money to be withdrawn from client accounts without clients’ authorisation, leaving a shortfall of more than £10 million, and that he used those funds for his own benefit. The SRA imposed a financial penalty of £3,984,440, ordered Miah to pay £41,670 in investigation costs, and disqualified him under section 99 of the Legal Services Act 2007 from acting as a head of legal practice or head of finance and administration, or as a manager or employee of any SRA-regulated licensed body.

In remarks reproduced in the Final Notice, the Adjudication Panel said the money funded the repayment of loans, the purchase of other businesses and the purchase of luxury cars and watches, without clients’ documented knowledge or consent. The panel said the conduct “would certainly be considered dishonest by ordinary decent people” and found that ordinary decent people would be appalled at Miah’s use of client funds for personal benefit, particularly given the large amount involved and the length of the period. The panel also found that Miah’s actions lacked integrity, that he put his own interests ahead of those of the firm’s clients, and that the use of client money in this way diminished trust in the firm and in legal services generally.

Approvals at Oracle and Kingly

The SRA licensed Kingly Solicitors and, on 2 April 2017, approved Miah, a non-lawyer with a history in financial services, as the company’s sole owner. The FCA approved Miah to perform the CF1 Director controlled function at Oracle from 2 December 2016 to 8 December 2019; the approval became the SMF3 Executive Director senior management function from 9 December 2019, a position the Final Notice states he continued to hold. Oracle provided investment services to retail clients, and the Final Notice states that the misconduct set out in the notice did not occur through this approved role. The FCA’s announcement described Oracle as an unconnected firm where Miah was approved in 2016 to work in senior management roles.

The FCA concluded that Miah is not a fit and proper person to perform any function in relation to regulated activity, finding that his misconduct demonstrated a clear and serious lack of honesty and integrity. The Final Notice cites the FCA’s Fit and Proper Test guidance, which identifies honesty, integrity and reputation among the most important factors in assessing fitness and propriety, and records that the FCA considered the relevance and materiality of the breach and the severity of the risk Miah poses to consumers and to confidence in the UK financial system. The notice states that the action advances the FCA’s consumer protection and integrity objectives under sections 1C and 1D of the Act.

SRA Penalty and Firm Closure

In a news release dated 15 May 2025, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said it had imposed its largest-ever fine, nearly £4 million, on Miah, the former non-solicitor owner of Kingly Solicitors. The firm, originally RH Legal (Bristol) Ltd, was shut down by the SRA in 2020 following serious concerns about the misuse of client funds. The SRA said its investigations revealed 310 improper transfers from client accounts to companies linked to Miah, used for inappropriate purposes such as loan repayments and buying assets unrelated to the business, and that it uncovered forged statements attempting to conceal the unauthorised transactions. The SRA reported its findings and supporting evidence to law enforcement authorities.

Despite the return of some funds, a shortfall of approximately £10 million remained at Kingly. The SRA said it stepped in to protect clients by closing the firm down, securing £22.5 million in client money and ensuring appropriate redress through its compensation fund, and that it collected and secured 220,000 files from the firm’s various offices, including more than 90,000 wills and deeds. Paul Philip, the SRA’s chief executive, said it was the largest fine the regulator had ever issued, that Miah’s dishonesty had impacted thousands of people, and that the action concluded the SRA’s investigations while it continued to review how best to protect client funds.

The SRA also acted against three other individuals. Lalou Tifrit, a consultant who assisted Miah and is not a solicitor, was disqualified from working in a regulated firm without SRA permission and ordered to pay £28,230 in costs. Colin Buckingham, who worked at Kingly and is not a solicitor, was disqualified from working as a head of finance and administration in a regulated firm without SRA permission and ordered to pay £1,350 in costs. Simon Hutcheson, a solicitor, was fined £26,766, ordered to pay £1,350 in costs and made subject to practice restrictions in place since 2023.

Therese Chambers, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Mr Miah dishonestly used client money for his own benefit. He has no place in financial services. We have banned him to protect consumers and help maintain confidence in the financial system.” The FCA said it is publicising the decision so that consumers and firms know that Miah cannot work in financial services.