A solicitor who stole nearly £1m in Stamp Duty Land Tax has been sentenced to ten years in jail.

However, a warrant has had to be issued for the arrest of Shameer Savranie, 40, who is now on the run.

His scam involved falsifying conveyancing documents in 139 transactions and lying to his clients.

Savranie, who was arrested in December 2011, had been the subject of a probe by HMRC and was found guilty and sentenced in his absence.

The court head how Sacranie would routinely report to HMRC that the houses concerned had been sold at prices under Stamp Duty thresholds.

His victims later received letters from HMRC telling them they owed both the Stamp Duty Land Duty payments plus interest, which in some cases ran into thousands of pounds.

One of the purchasers, Deepak Thakrar, bought two London flats and told the jury he believed Sacranie had passed on payments of £12,600 for the first flat and £9,300 for the other.

He had no idea that the money had not been passed on until he got a letter from HMRC four years later.

Another victim had bought a property for £200,000 and paid Stamp Duty Land Tax. But Sacranie had declared the purchase price at £120,000.

Prosecuting, Simon Worlock said Sacranie fled the country either last December or January this year, despite having his passport taken away from him.

He said: “He somehow acquired another passport and left the country.

“He has boasted of having offices in Dubai, America and Paris.

“He was last heard of in Dubai, but no address was given. I believe he may now be in Algeria, where he has got married during these legal proceedings.”

Defence barrister Philip Bown said: “I’m afraid I haven’t got any ammunition.”

Judge Michael Stokes said there had been “overwhelming evidence of cheating the public revenue out of more than £1m”.

He added: “I understand he was the Leicestershire Asian Business Association solicitor of the year in 2006 – while he was committing this fraud.”

An investigation by HMRC had revealed that Savranie, the director of SFS Legal in Leicester, had altered legal documents to reduce the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax due on 139 properties bought by his clients.

Sacranie then charged his clients for Stamp Duty Land Tax in excess of the fraudulently reduced amounts and pocketed the difference.

Stuart Taylor, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said after the case: “As a solicitor, Sacranie knew only too well what the consequences of his actions would be.

“To abuse the trust of his clients was a despicable act, stealing money that had been paid by them in good faith to meet their tax liabilities.

“The sentence should serve as a reminder to those who hold positions of trust that the justice system takes a firm line on those who fall foul of the law.”

Sacranie was sentenced last Thursday in his absence at Nottingham Crown Court. He had also failed to attend Nottingham Crown Court in January.

Sacranie was barred from practising as a solicitor in 2012. A director of 14 companies, he was also disqualified from being a director for 12 years.

People can report leads on the Most Wanted fugitives via HMRC’s Customs, Excise and VAT fraud reporting hotline on 0800 595 000, by email to bit.ly/PoT0Wx or through the Crimestoppers website: www.crimestoppers-uk.org