Tribunal suspends solicitor for reckless supervision and accounts breaches at london firm
Solicitor Anbananden Sooben has been suspended for a fixed period after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) found he acted recklessly in his supervision of a branch office and failed to ensure compliance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019.
Sooben, who served as the Manager, Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) of his firm since its inception in September 2019, came under regulatory scrutiny following serious governance and supervision failings.
In July 2023, the firm absorbed another practice, L&L Law, after the death of its sole principal. That practice became the firm’s Colliers Wood branch, managed locally by Mr Lingajothy, who was identified in client care documents as a caseworker, while Sooben was listed as the firm’s principal.
However, investigators later discovered that all payments, including staff salaries, were made through an account belonging to a limited liability company solely controlled by Mr Lingajothy. This account received direct payments from clients, which were deposited without Sooben’s knowledge or authorisation.
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The situation escalated on 9 July 2023, when undercover reporters posing as economic migrants alleged that Mr Lingajothy had advised them to fabricate information to obtain asylum in the UK. The revelations were published two days later, on 11 July 2023, prompting Sooben to immediately dismiss the caseworker.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) subsequently notified the firm on 27 July 2023 of its intention to conduct a forensic investigation, which began the next day. Following that inquiry, the regulator intervened into the firm in February 2024, and referred Sooben to the SDT in July 2024.
During the disciplinary hearing, Sooben denied any dishonesty. He disputed allegations that he had misled the firm’s professional indemnity insurer by failing to disclose that the practice was under SRA investigation. He also denied concealing information or falsifying documents.
The SRA alleged that Sooben had altered attendance notes and created invoices in an attempt to misrepresent the firm’s records. However, the Tribunal accepted Sooben’s explanation that these amendments were made in error, following his belief that he needed to update paperwork before a compliance visit. The SDT found that these actions were not dishonest and were not intended to deceive clients.
Nonetheless, the Tribunal ruled that Sooben had provided misleading information to the firm’s insurer by failing to disclose the ongoing investigation. It also found that he had breached the Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019 and had failed to properly supervise the Colliers Wood branch.
The Tribunal concluded that Sooben’s supervision of the branch office was reckless, despite his claim that he visited the premises three times a week and adopted a “hands-off” management style.
In its ruling, the SDT stated that Sooben’s lack of oversight had allowed a situation to develop where unmonitored payments and unauthorised client transactions occurred, exposing both the firm and the public to risk.
While the Tribunal did not find any dishonesty, it determined that Sooben’s conduct fell below the standard expected of a solicitor with his seniority and regulatory responsibilities. His breaches of the SRA Principles 2019 and Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs 2019 were deemed serious enough to warrant a suspension.
The Tribunal’s decision reflects the SRA’s emphasis on accountability for firm managers and compliance officers, especially in relation to financial transparency and supervision.
Sooben’s suspension serves as a reminder that even in the absence of dishonesty, solicitors who act recklessly or fail to exercise proper control over their firms can face severe regulatory sanctions.