Lawyer struck off the rolls over role in PIC scam
A lawyer who was convicted for his role in trying to defraud the government by abusing the Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme was on Wednesday (28 November) struck off the rolls by the Court of Three Judges.
Kangatharan Ramoo Kandavellu, the sole proprietor of law firm Kanga & Co, was last year fined $4,500 and ordered to pay a penalty of $49,212. He admitted to giving false information to the Comptroller of Income Tax.
In 2014, Kangatharan heard about the PIC scheme, which grants cash payouts and bonuses to firms to spur productivity. He attended a presentation on the scheme by Paradize Consultancy, whose sole proprietor was S. Chandran. Paradize made PIC claims on behalf of applicants.
During the presentation, Kangatharan told Chandran’s wife, A. K. Sahtyah J. Alexander Vincent, that his firm did not have the mandatory minimum of three employees to qualify for the PIC scheme. With the help of Chandran, Sahtyah, and Paradize staff, Kangatharan then made false declarations in the PIC cash payout application form, stating that his son and sister were employed by his firm. He also lied that his firm incurred an expenditure of $16,010.
Chandran will be sentenced in January next year for his role in the scam involving $1.1 million. He aided 49 applicants in submitting 58 bogus claims between June 2013 and July 2014. While the claims added up to $1,122,744 in cash payout and bonuses, only $876.684 was eventually paid out.
As part of the scam, Paradize was to be paid half of the $24,606 that Kangatharan’s firm would receive from the government. However, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore detected the false information and did not make the payout.
Kangatharan has not renewed his practicing certificate since 2015. After his conviction in August last year, the Law Society of Singapore applied to the Supreme Court to strike him off the roll of advocates and solicitors.
Chandran pleaded guilty last Friday (23 November) to 18 counts of helping applicants unqualified for the PIC grants submit fraudulent claims. Another 40 counts of a similar nature will be considered when he is sentenced. His wife Sahtyah has yet to be dealt with.
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