The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has struck off a former solicitor of a South Yorkshire firm who hid assets during a divorce.
Mamoon Rashid Chaudhary, who was previously a partner at Rotherham-based Oxley & Coward Solicitors, admitted to the SDT that he lied about his interest in a property.
He also falsely claimed that he invested the proceeds of sale in a property venture that had subsequently failed.
A £75,000 property was purchased with a £45,000 investment from Chaudhary, but the solicitor failed to disclose this fact when divorce proceedings between him and his wife commenced and he had to supply a list of assets to the court.
He later attempted to amend his submission, in a bid declare his interest in the property.
The SDT ruled that Chaudhary’s conduct amounted to a clear departure from the “complete integrity, probity and trustworthiness” expected of a solicitor.
“The seriousness of the misconduct is at the highest level, and the protection of the reputation of the legal profession requires no lesser sanction than a strike off.”
Chaudhary was also ordered to pay £29,000 in costs.
