A solicitor practising with one of the firms named in last year’s Mail immigration sting has today been suspended by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The regulator said it had intervened to effectively stop Anbananden Sooben, of Ealing firm Duncan Ellis Solicitors, from practising following reason to suspect that he had been dishonest. It also had reason to suspect Sooben had failed to comply with accounts rules and the solicitor code of conduct.

It is understood that the intervention was not related to any immigration matter.

Sooben, admitted in 2006, was one of two solicitors at the firm, which was identified as part of the Mail’s undercover investigation into immigration advisers last summer.

VP Lingajothy, who is not a practising solicitor, was filmed at the Duncan Ellis offices apparently advising a 'client' to claim they had been arrested and tortured in their home country for their political views.

Within a week, the SRA issued legal executive Lingajothy with a section 43 notice preventing him from working for any regulated firm. The regulator said he had ‘deliberately provided advice which would mislead the Home Office when seeking to determine his prospective client’s claim for asylum’.

It is understood that the action during the summer prompted a further investigation into Duncan Ellis which has then led to the suspension of Sooben. Following the Mail sting, Anbananden had told the newspaper that Lingajothy was unsupervised when he met the undercover reporter and that no solicitors were present at the meeting. He was quoted as saying that Lingajothy’s recorded advice was ‘completely contrary to the principles and values of our firm and contrary to the law of the country and SRA rules’. He added that the firm upheld the 'highest ethical and professional standards'.

The SRA initially said that Duncan Ellis itself was still authorised to continue to provide legal services, but later clarified that the whole firm has closed. The Gazette has contacted Duncan Ellis for comment. 

 

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