Barrister disbarred over retention of overpaid giftaid

Barrister Ahtiq Raja has been disbarred by an independent disciplinary tribunal which concluded on 17 November 2022 following a charge of professional misconduct brought by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).

The Tribunal ordered the disbarment should take effect within 14 days and also ordered Raja to pay the BSB £1,560 costs.

The tribunal made their decision after Raja dishonestly retained an overpayment of gift aid to his charity in the sum of £238,787.50 made on 11 May 2017. For this, he was convicted before the Crown Court sitting at Northampton on 31 October 2019 and sentenced on 14 January 2020.

The tribunal found Raja behaved in a way likely to diminish the trust and confidence the public places in him or in the profession and took the unanimous view that Raja should be disbarred.

Commenting on the order, a BSB spokesperson said: “It is essential that the public can place their trust in barristers and that they act with honesty and integrity at all times. Acting in such a dishonest way which led to a criminal conviction is therefore a very serious matter for a barrister and the tribunal’s decision to disbar Mr Raja reflects this.”

The tribunal’s decision is open to appeal.