Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A Wolverhampton director has been sentenced for fraud and money laundering after pocketing £30,000 in Covid loans he was not entitled to. Sohail Cheema falsely declared his company’s turnover was £60,000 when applying to two separate banks for £15,000 Bounce Back Loans in 2020. His business, Sohail Cheema Limited, set up for him to gain…
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A banned company director who spent £300,000 of Covid support on family holidays, private school fees, and other personal spending has been jailed. Steven Brookes used funds from six fraudulently obtained Bounce Back Loans to pay for a trip to Disneyland, a holiday rental in Tenerife, and an Audi with personalised number plates for his wife. The 40-year-old also paid £7,000…
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Two men who carried out a £3 million insolvency fraud and money laundering scheme have been sentenced. Disqualified director Tariq Sarwar knew his company was in financial difficulty and likely to be wound up when he sold commercial property in Salford – his company’s only substantial asset – for more than £5 million. Sarwar fraudulently…
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A housebuilder who transferred development land worth £250,000 out of his failing construction company to a firm controlled by his partner has been sentenced. Ishfaq Hussain signed over the two pieces of land from Reeson Homes Ltd, a company where he was sole director, to Paddington Homes Ltd, as creditors closed in and the company…
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More than half of UK businesses plan to increase investment in AI over the next year, according to a Barclays survey of 900,000 firms. The report found that 68% of companies plan to invest in cybersecurity, while 54% expect overall investment to grow. Six in ten firms are already using AI agents to improve productivity…
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A Newcastle recruitment consultant has been sentenced for a string of offences, including Covid fraud, flouting director disqualifications and running a phoenix company while bankrupt. Lucien Ekamba-Elombe set up a recruitment firm under a similar name to his previous failed company while legally banned from doing so after failing to pay council tax. He secretly…
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A South London man who secured Covid support funds for a construction firm which never traded has been disqualified as a company director for the maximum period of 15 years. Ademilson Nascimento obtained a £46,500 Bounce Back Loan in July 2020 by falsely claiming that his Buildan Construction Ltd company had a turnover of £192,000.…
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A convicted money launderer has been sentenced to an additional 499 days in prison for failing to fully pay the money owed under a Confiscation Order. In 2021, Richard Faithfull was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison for laundering £2.5 million, following a prosecution brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He…
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A director of two companies which supported a scheme allowing business owners to keep their assets while dropping their debts has been disqualified. Suzanne Harley-Davies failed to exercise control of the affairs of Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited during 2023 and 2024. She also failed to ensure that the companies operated for legitimate corporate…
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New findings from fraud prevention service, Cifas, has revealed a shift in attitudes towards insider‑enabled fraud, with 13% of employees saying they have either sold their company login details to a former colleague, or know someone who has, in the past 12 months. For organisations, the normalisation of credential sharing significantly increases exposure to insider…
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The Insolvency Service has announced a partnership with Crimestoppers in an attempt to crack down on rogue directors. The partnership aims to boost tip-offs about banned directors still operating in the shadows The Insolvency Service disqualifies more than 1,000 directors every year for misconduct, including failing to pay tax and using company funds for personal…
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A disqualified director who continued to run two companies for more than five years while he was banned has been sentenced. Bharat Jogia was disqualified as a company director for 13 years in 2014 after not disputing that he caused Jogia Jewellers (UK) Limited to wrongfully claim more than £2 million from HM Revenue and…
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A business adviser from Surrey has been disqualified as a company director for a second time after failing to pay more than £100,000 in tax. Richard Beal was the sole director of management consultancy firm Larter Beal Limited, which owed more than £70,000 in corporation tax and £50,000 in VAT when it went into liquidation…
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