Lawyer reinstated 12 years after being disbarred due to firm's partner taking off with S$11 million

SINGAPORE: A lawyer was disbarred in 2011 for failing to supervise the accounts of his law firm, which allowed his partner to misappropriate more than S$11 million (US$8 million) of clients' money.

Twelve years later, Mr Mohd Sadique Ibrahim Marican was reinstated as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore on Tuesday (Sep 5).

According to court documents, Mr Sadique and Mr Zulkifli Mohd Amin set up their law practice together in 2004.

Mr Zulkifli was the firm's managing partner and managed its client and office accounts. Mr Sadique was responsible for matters concerning staff salaries and the monthly review of the balances in the client account.

On Nov 19, 2007, Mr Sadique discovered that the firm's client and office accounts were overdrawn. A day later, Mr Zulkifli absconded with funds belonging to more than 80 clients.

Mr Sadique was struck off in 2011 when the Court of Three Judges found that he had allowed Mr Zulkifli to manage their firm's accounts alone and without a framework for periodic checks.

The court at the time called it an exceptional case given the huge financial loss to clients. It found that while there was no dishonesty on Mr Sadique's part, he was derelict in his duty and committed a "serious breach of professional responsibility".

It also ordered that Mr Zulkifli be struck off the roll, calling him "patently dishonest".

After Mr Zulkifli absconded, Mr Sadique and the firm arranged to pay out more than S$1 million to the firm's clients. But as Mr Sadique was unable to pay the majority of the debt owed, he was declared a bankrupt in 2010.

For the next 12 years, he made monthly payments averaging S$1,000 until he was discharged from bankruptcy in 2022. This included a period in 2013 when he was diagnosed with cancer, which recurred in 2015.

On Tuesday, the Court of Three Judges said it was satisfied that Mr Sadique had been fully rehabilitated and that reinstating him would not undermine the protection of the public interest or the reputation of the legal profession.

"Mr Sadique's striking off was not due to any defect in his character but due to his lack of competence in failing to have adequate supervision over the client account of the firm," the court said in a judgment.

Counsel representing the Law Society and Attorney-General's Chambers did not object to the arguments made by Mr Sadique's lawyer, Mr Siraj Omar of Drew & Napier, for his client to be reinstated.

The arguments in Mr Sadique's favour included his continued involvement in legal work overseas. From 2011, he took up a variety of in-house legal roles in Dubai, and later won awards as a general counsel.

"He has really kept his nose clean, he has kept his head down, and he has worked hard," said Mr Siraj.

The judges also noted testimonials from Mr Sadique's colleagues and employers, which they said attested to his competence and professionalism, and his honesty in managing substantial funds while working in the Middle East.

This included a "multimillion" dollar annual legal budget that was "closely managed" by Mr Sadique as group general counsel of a company, according to his lawyer.

The court also took into account the "substantial period" of more than 12 years that had elapsed since he was struck off.

Mr Sadique was reinstated on the condition that for a year from the issuance of his first practising certificate after the reinstatement, he does not become the sole proprietor, partner or director of any law practice.

Other conditions for that year include not holding or receiving any client or trust account funds, and undergoing courses by the Law Society on ethics and the Legal Profession (Solicitors' Accounts) Rules.