Law licenses of Zunnavaar Saleem and wife suspended over misuse of notary seal

Bar Council of the Maldives has suspended the licenses of lawyer Zunnavaar Saleem and his wife, Mehenaz Hussain, over the misuse of a public notary seal and repeated violations of professional conduct.

In a statement, Bar Council said Zunnavaar had authenticated an agreement using a public notary seal issued to Mehenaz. The seal was used to notarize an agreement despite not being legally authorized to do so.

The couple, who are both licensed lawyers, had previously been penalized in 2021 and fined MVR 100,000 for providing notary services under Mehenaz’s permit before it was formally approved.

The council convened an emergency meeting yesterday to review the latest incident and ruled that their actions raised serious concerns about the authenticity of legal processes and could damage public trust in the legal profession.

“These actions are likely to raise public questions about the authenticity of notarized documents and may undermine confidence in the legal profession,” the council said.

As a result, Zunnavaar’s license has been suspended for 15 months, and Mehenaz’s for 12 months.

Under the Legal Profession Act, lawyers are prohibited from practicing law or offering legal services while their license is suspended.

In 2013, Anti-Corruption Commission found that Zunnavaar had submitted a forged Bachelor of Laws certificate to obtain his license. However, he later completed his studies and was sworn in as a lawyer in 2020.