A SOLICITOR who “abandoned” his practice and left it in the hands of two inexperienced women after leaving for Sri Lanka, has been struck off.

A disciplinary tribunal heard Rajah Ashmore Clifford Peiris was also suspected of being involved in mortgage fraud while running his firm, Clifford Peiris and Co, in Plumstead High Street.

Peiris, who at one stage was also believed to be in Genoa, Italy, did not attend the hearing where he faced a string of allegations of conduct unbefitting a solicitor.

The tribunal was told there were signs of mortgage fraud, failure to exercise proper supervision and acting for both parties where there was a conflict of interest.

There were further allegations of failing to deliver deeds and documents, unreasonably delaying dealing with clients' affairs and not keeping accounts properly written up.

A holding address for Peiris was given as Fernando Place, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

Roger Field, for the Law Society, said Peiris had recently written accepting his “acts or omissions had caused problems”.

A member of the Woolwich Building Society contacted the Solicitors' Complaints Bureau in 1993 concerning enquiries it made about Peiris.

Building society staff visited the firm and found “two young, inexperienced ladies present”, unable to find documents.

They had written saying Peiris was away ill but, said Mr Field was in Sri Lanka.

The SCB called in a fraud intelligence officer who found a large number of property matters in various stages of completion.

Money-borrowing charges had not been registered in conveyancing transactions.

Mr Field said some of the matters bore signs of mortgage fraud, such as property being conveyed to different people from those who had funded the purchase.

He said it was suggested Peiris had participated, “unwittingly or otherwise”, in mortgage fraud.

Tribunal chairman Colin Chesterton found the allegations proved and ordered Peiris' name struck off.