A SOLICITOR from Nelson who paid off witnesses as part of a £300,000 fake energy drink scam is facing being kicked out of his profession.

Majed Iqbal, 33, was jailed for five years in January 2013 after he was convicted at Hull Crown Court of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Iqbal’s case has now been referred by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority to the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal for a full hearing.

He has been accused of acting in a manner ‘contrary to the requirements to uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice and/or act with integrity and/or behave in a way that maintains the trust the public placed in him and/or the provision of legal services’.

No date has yet been fixed by the SDT for a hearing but he will face being struck off for his actions when he appears before a fitness to practice panel later in 2014.

Iqbal’s conduct was said to have occurred while he worked for the Bradford legal firm Pethridge Bassa, which later distanced itself from the affair.

The father-of-two, while representing Bradford nightclub tycoon Yasar Hussain, was caught flying out to Dubai and Budapest to ‘buy the silence’ of victims of an energy drinks scam.

Hussain had come up with the idea of marketing a new tonic based on the ‘Duracell’ brand name, enlisted his brother Zameer, and even approached trademark holders Procter and Gamble.

Even though they were knocked back by the company they continued to promote the idea, including flying out to an international food fair to negotiate selling rights for the bogus drink. The Hussains were later arrested.

But before they could stand trial police were told a number of witnesses were reluctant to attend court as they had been paid off.

Iqbal was intercepted at Manchester Airport and found to have a computer memory stick containing video clips of him handing over money to people involved in the case.