Tariq Ghauri

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

The Respondent, a non-solicitor Practice Manager at the Firm, repeatedly misled the SRA and his principal (NG) between January and August 2013 by falsely representing that the Firm's accountant was preparing the overdue accountant's report, including fabricating an account of attending the accountant's office. The accountants had not in fact been instructed. He admitted both allegations and accepted objective dishonesty but denied subjective dishonesty on grounds of poor mental health following his father's death. The Tribunal found subjective dishonesty proved beyond reasonable doubt, holding that although he was unwell, he was capable of distinguishing honest from dishonest behaviour. It made a Section 43 order and ordered costs of £10,000.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Proven dishonesty that was deliberate and repeated over a period of time
• Lies only ended when discovered by the Firm's Supervisor
• Motivated to conceal his own failings
• Conduct directly affected NG, who faced Tribunal proceedings as a result
• Deliberately misled the SRA - as culpable as misapplication of client funds (SRA v Spence)

Mitigating factors:

• Fully open and cooperative with the SRA once misrepresentations discovered
• Admitted substantive matters from the outset and confirmed admissions in answer and oral evidence
• Expressed remorse
• Was unwell (depression with suicidal ideation) at the time
• No previous disciplinary matters