Sivasubramaniam Sivananthan

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

Sivasubramaniam Sivananthan, sole principal of Siwan & Co, was found to have completely abrogated his duty to supervise his practice, in particular failing to supervise an unadmitted practice manager (Mr Sabharwal). An OSS inspection identified a shortfall on client account of £35,165.37, with client monies transferred to office account without proper bills, plus numerous breaches of undertakings (twelve undertakings totalling £783,992.62) and the transmission of Bank of Scotland mortgage funds to a non-existent firm ('Shaizir & Co'). The respondent admitted allegations b) to f) and contested allegation a), which the Tribunal nonetheless found substantiated. The applicant expressly did NOT allege dishonesty against the respondent (the intervention was on grounds of suspected dishonesty, but no dishonesty was alleged or found against the respondent). The Tribunal found all allegations proved and ordered him struck off, plus costs of £3,172.50.

Duties found breached:

• Competence
• Integrity
• No improper use of client money
• No own-interest conflict
• Proper basis for allegations

Aggravating factors:

• Complete abrogation of duty as sole principal
• Significant shortfall on client account (£35,165.37)
• Significant number of breaches of undertakings (twelve totalling £783,992.62)
• Transmission of mortgage funds to a non-existent firm despite awareness of Law Society Green Warning Card guidance
• Did not appear to understand the seriousness of what occurred or his responsibility for it
• Claims on the Compensation Fund stood at £68,662.19