Farrukh Abbas

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Mr Abbas, a solicitor, allowed and pursued a fabricated personal injury insurance claim arising from a road traffic accident in which he falsely claimed to have been the driver and to have suffered injuries, when in fact his colleague Mr Anjum was driving the uninsured vehicle. Over 9 months he signed a false witness statement with a statement of truth, provided untrue instructions to a medical expert, attended a medical examination and physiotherapy feigning injuries, and signed a declaration approving a false medical report, all for hoped-for financial gain. He admitted all allegations including dishonesty. The Tribunal found dishonesty proved under the Ivey test and found no exceptional circumstances to avoid strike off. He was struck off the Roll. No order for costs was made (claimed £23,925) due to his limited means.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty
• Financial motivation - sought personal financial gain to which he was not entitled
• Misconduct lasted over a 9-month period and was not fleeting
• Actively pursued the false claim including feigning injuries at medical examination and physiotherapy
• Conduct capable of amounting to a criminal offence
• Played down seriousness and advocated no disciplinary action, showing limited insight

Mitigating factors:

• Previously unblemished disciplinary record
• Made early, albeit guarded, admissions
• Did not mislead the regulator
• Element of joint venture with Mr Anjum, who instigated the claim
• Stopped the misconduct of his own accord
• Difficult personal circumstances at the time (wife's difficult pregnancy, financial hardship)
• Remorse