Tax avoidance solicitors suspended

Two solicitors originally fined £15,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) for their involvement in operating tax avoidance schemes have been suspended for three years at a new hearing. Richard Chan and Rajob Ali were partners of Abode Solicitors in Harrogate when the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) closed the firm down in October 2013. The pair then appeared in front of the SDT in September 2014 and were fined for operating stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes in an unprofessional manner. Last week, the SDT suspended the pair for three years and ordered them to pay further costs of £5,500.