The UK Solicitor Disciplinary Tribunal, a solicitors’ watchdog, struck off Indian lawyer Mathew Moghan Rajamohan Chellam from practising in the UK.

As per the judgment dated June 13, 2024, Chellam was alleged by the Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd (SRA) to have committed several breaches of the SRA Principles 2011.

Eight years ago, between April 2011 and August 2014, Chellam allegedly made or facilitated fraudulent applications for Non-European Economic Area (EEA) residence cards to assist unlawful immigration into EU member states.

He also falsely claimed to be in a genuine marriage with an EEA national to avoid removal from the UK, further breaching these principles. These allegations are supported by his convictions for assisting unlawful immigration, providing unqualified immigration services, and seeking to obtain leave to remain in the UK by deception.

However, Chellam neither attended the hearing nor engaged with the proceedings.

In the recent order of the Tribunal chairperson dated July 5 said that Chellam has since returned to India and that his current address in India was unknown. The Tribunal also struck off Chellam’s name from the ‘Roll of Solicitors’ and it further ordered to pay the costs of and incidental to this application and enquiry fixed in the sum of £4,058 (~₹4.34 lakh).

On Sept 12, 2016, at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Chellam was convicted of one count of assisting unlawful immigration into an EU member state. The judge stated, “You did so by means of sham marriages between otherwise illegal immigrants and EU nationals.”

 “Chellam’s motivation for the misconduct was for monetary gain, the fact that the misconduct arose from carefully planned actions including by using ‘sham marriages’ with a view to

abusing applicable laws, and that the circumstances giving rise to the misconduct were under the direct control of  Chellam and concluded his level of culpability was ‘extremely high’,” the Tribunal noted.