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£200,000 Chantrey Vellacott Thief Should Have Gone to Prison
Garry Hacker, an insolvency practitioner who stole over £200,000 from clients and insolvency estates and put the money into his accounts, has been sacked from veteran accountancy firm Chantrey Vellacott and had his licence removed. At a disciplinary tribunal hearing led by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Hacker admitted transferring…
How to Protect Customer Deposits Without New Legislation
Britain must have new legislation to ensure cash from deposits and voucher sales is returned to customers when a retailer goes into administration, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The call follows the recent insolvencies of retailers such as music chain Zavvi and furniture supplier MFI where customers lost cash paid…
Premier League Boss Tries and Fails to Defend Football Insolvency Rules
Premier League head Richard Scudamore has attempted to defend the football creditors’ rule, following a lawsuit filed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC, quite correctly, claim the rule on paying soccer creditors first is ‘unfair, unlawful and unacceptable.’
Government’s Pre-Pack Administration Reforms Too Soft
A few weeks ago, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for the insolvency regime, Ed Davey, unveiled a series of proposals aimed at reforming ‘pre-pack’ administrations. These include forcing insolvency practitioners (IPs) to give creditors prior warning about the sale of significant proportions of a company’s assets to a connected party. Under the terms of…
David Cameron Paves Way for HMRC to Target PAYE and NIC Dodgers
From April 2012, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will require a security from employers if they suspect National Insurance Contributions (NIC) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes will be unpaid. HMRC claims the new legislation, which includes a criminal offence for business owners that are asked to give security but fail to do so,…
Insolvency Practitioners’ Campaign against Energy Firms and Suppliers is Pointless
Britain’s leading professional association for insolvency and business recovery specialists has launched an astonishing attack on suppliers who raise prices or stop serving companies that have fallen into insolvent administration. According to R3, debt-chasing suppliers such as utility companies are responsible for 14% of liquidations and the rapid increase in pre-pack administrations, in which a…
Insolvency Lawyer Issues UK Court Summons via Facebook
A lawyer has used Facebook to serve a court summons, in what experts claim is the first case of its kind in the UK. Solicitor Hilary Thorpe claims she had exhausted all conventional methods of trying to contact a debtor on behalf of a client, before recalling a case in which the Supreme Court in…
Sports Celebrities Snookered by Management Firm Liquidation
The liquidation of a management firm whose clients included sports stars such Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Olympic gold-winning cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is likely to set a lengthy court battle in motion. According to the Daily Mail, several of 110 Sport Management (110SM)‘s former clients are preparing to launch compensation claims for outstanding payments against…
Johnson Matthey Bank Bailout Fraudster Jailed After 25 Years
A fraudster linked to the spectacular collapse of Johnson Matthey Bank (JMB) has been jailed in London for 16 months – more than 25 years after his crimes were committed. Prosecutors were unable to bring proceedings against Vasant Advani, 67, after he left the Capital for West Africa in 1986.
HMRC vs English Football: The Battle Rages On
English football clubs owed more than £22m in overdue tax to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2010, according to figures released last week. Premier League clubs owed £8.6m, Championship clubs owed £6.4m and Football League clubs were indebted to HMRC for £7.4m. Dave Boyle, chief executive of campaign group Supporters Direct, believes the figures…