Andrew Baillie, prosecuting, said the solicitors had sold the properties to each other, ramping up the prices before applying for the mortgages. Mr Baillie said: “This is not an 80% mortgage or a 90% mortgage but, taking all of these loans together, it was the equivalent of an 866% mortgage.” He said that by the time the lenders realised that the properties were worth a fraction of what they had been told, it was too late: “The money had been distributed, a very substantial part of it sent abroad and the banks were left to whistle for their money.”

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