A DISGRACED former local lawyer jailed for laundering almost £1.5m of dirty money through a legal firm looks set to appeal his conviction, a court has heard.

An advocate acting for David Lyons, 71, from Kilmacolm, told judge Lord Braid how the ex-solicitor believes he was wrongly convicted.

Lyons was given a seven year prison term in January for being part of a gang of five men who used Paisley law firm Robertson & Ross to launder cash, with money funnelled through the client account of the firm to try and make it look legitimate.

Lyons acted alongside fellow Kilmacolm man Iain Robertson, 69, and another ex-lawyer, Alastair Blackwood in the scam.

Mohammed Aziz, 61, and Robert Ferguson, 67, also took part in the crimes.

Now prosecutors are seeking to recover the men’s ill-gotten gains by using proceeds of crime legislation against them.

During a procedural hearing held at the High Court in Edinburgh, Lyons’ advocate Gail Gianni told Lord Braid that her client believes he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

She said: “Mr Lyons has lodged an intention to appeal against his conviction and sentence - that’s at an early stage.”

The five men were sentenced following a nine week trial before judge Lord Richardson.

The trial was the culmination of a process which had been triggered by a Law Society probe into activities at the firm.

They were convicted of fraud and multiple charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Robertson, Lyons and Aziz were also convicted on charges of being involved in serious organised crime.

Robertson was jailed for eight years while Blackwood, of Dunlop, Ayrshire, was given a seven year stretch.

Aziz, of Partick, was also given a seven year term whilst Ferguson, 67, of Thornliebank, was jailed for 16 months.

The case centred on four transactions carried out between May 2015 and July 2016.

The first involved a £79,340 stolen cheque due to be paid to a law firm in Jersey.

The next centred on £240,000 from a fraudulent house sale in London.

The third transaction saw £985,000 stolen from the hacked bank account of an individual.

And the final illegal activity was uncovered after Robertson claimed to be acting for a man who wanted to sell his home in Essex.

The court heard that the "seller" was said to be staying at a flat that turned out to be Ferguson's address.

A total of £181,786 was made from the fraudulent sale.

In each transaction, the proceeds were funnelled through the client bank account held by Robertson's firm in Paisley, Robertson & Ross

Limited and false records were created to make them appear legitimate.

Fake papers and fake IDs - including a passport and driver's licence - were collated in a bid to cover up the crimes.

The Law Society raised concerns about several of these transactions before alerting police to the potential illegal activity.

Lord Braid has continued the case to another hearing which will take place at the High Court in Edinburgh on June 5.