Director disqualified for transferring assets to his own name

A businessman has been disqualified from being a director for six years after it was discovered that he transferred a property belonging to his insolvent company into his own name.

Mohammed Liton ran the restaurant Penicuik Clippers Ltd for seven years until it went into voluntary liquidation in 2015. It owed creditors £58,800 at the time.

An investigation by the Insolvency Service found that shortly before the liquidation, Mr Liton transferred a freehold property from the company to his own name in settlement of his outstanding loan account to the company. The property was worth at least £66,723 net of mortgage finance.

Mr Liton has now signed a disqualification undertaking, which prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for six years.

Robert Clarke, Head of Company Investigation at the Insolvency Service said: “Directors who put their own personal financial interests above those of creditors damage confidence in doing business and are corrosive to the health of the local economy.

“The undertaking signed by Mohammed Liton should send a clear message to other directors tempted to help themselves first; they have a duty to their customers and creditors and if they neglect this duty they could be investigated by the Insolvency Service and removed from the business environment.

“The Insolvency Service will take action against directors who do not take their obligations seriously and abuse their position of trust.”

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