A B.C. lawyer who used his trust account to receive and disburse $6.6 million for an immigration consulting firm has been handed a three-month suspension for professional misconduct.
A Law Society of B.C. tribunal noted that an earlier ruling had found Rene Henri Daignault had “failed to make reasonable inquiries when there were objectively suspicious circumstances” about his client and the purpose of the money.
“This was serious misconduct,” said the 13-page penalty decision by the tribunal led by chair Maia Tsurumi.
Daignault used his firm’s trust account to receive and disburse $6.27 million in Canadian currency and $249,910 in U.S. currency between 2016 and 2021, involving 13 transactions and agreements to provide services for individuals applying to immigrate to Canada.
The tribunal stressed lawyers need to understand the importance of their role as gatekeepers to their trust accounts.
An earlier panel on the Daignualt case, which found he had committed professional misconduct, noted the failure to make reasonable inquiries took place against a backdrop of published warnings by the law society to its members about money laundering through a lawyer’s trust account.
The law society did not allege that Daignault facilitated money laundering.
Daignault had practised law for 31 years in B.C. and started his own firm in 2002, which focused on corporate and securities law.
Daignault, who ceased to be a lawyer in B.C. in 2024, did not have anyone appear on his behalf in response to the allegations.
