A LAWYER from Blackburn who claimed he moved hundreds of thousands of pounds of a client’s cash to a mystery figure in Abu Dhabi for religious reasons has been struck off.

Solicitor Sabir Hussain, who ran NP Law Ltd in Strawberry Bank, insisted he had shifted substantial sums to an intermediary because of his Islamic beliefs, the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal heard.

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But the law firm’s founder, Nizamuddin Patel, denied that this was their practice, and told investigators that he had no knowledge of the third party, referred to only as Mr HA at the hearing.

Hussain, who qualified as a solicitor in 2007, abandoned the Blackburn practice in November 2014, shortly after he was made bankrupt, prompting an inquiry by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

One client was left at least £60,000 out of pocket after Hussain took money during their purchase of a property and transferred it to Mr HA, the disciplinary hearing was told, and had to make a claim to the Solicitors Compensation Fund.

And another £664,424 lodged with the firm during another property transaction was withdrawn in nine chunks during 2014, and paid to Mr HA, though this was eventually repaid.

Hussain, who did not attend the London tribunal proceedings because of ill health, produced a witness statement from Mr HA, the night before he was due to appear.

But the tribunal dismissed the Abu Dhabi financier’s evidence as “wholly implausible”, after hearing from NP Law’s accountants that they had no knowledge of their client’s adherence to sharia law on interest matters.

Hussain also faced a number of charges in relation to NP Law’s crash, including his failure to respond to calls and e-mails from an SRA supervisor, Michael Smith, asking for clarification on the accounts he had left behind.

In his defence, Hussain said in a statement: “I regret the actions taken and in hindsight I wished I had assisted the SRA and indeed my clients in an orderly wind down of the firm.

“That said the allegation that I intentionally disregarded my duties and obligations is thoroughly wrong and simply does not do justice to the circumstances.

“I was a relatively young solicitor who was adjudicated (sic) bankrupt, which effectively spelt (sic) the end of my legal career.”

He told the tribunal, denying he had “wilfully” abandoned his practice, that he had been “paralysed by my fears” and was worried about being ostracised by his family and community.

Interviewed by the SRA, Mr Patel said that any suggestion that he knew Mr HA was “absolute rubbish” and any suggestions that Hussain’s conduct was linked to a religious policy was “a non starter”.

Mr Patel also said he was unaware of Hussain being a deeply religious man as he had never seen him taking part in regular daily prayers.

One of the firm’s accountants, Richard Robinson, said that any purported discussions concerning Hussain and religious difficulties over interest were “categorically untrue”.

Ordering Hussain to be struck off, tribunal chairman Dominic Green said: “The respondent has grossly breached his position of trust by transferring client money to unknown third parties, without consent and in complete breach of the rules.

“The nonsensical excuse he had presented concerning the payment of interest and his purported religious convictions was cynical and the tribunal viewed it with deep displeasure.”

Hussain, whose actions were described as “deliberate, calculated and repeated”, is also required to pay costs totalling £45,750.