Technology entrepreneur jailed for 18 months
Technology entrepreneur Jason Tsai has been imprisoned for 18 months after being found in contempt of court during proceedings related to a large-scale VAT fraud.
Tsai ran Telford-based Entatech, which had become Changtel Solutions UK when it collapsed into liquidation. In January Tsai – who is the founder of the Telford Chinese School – was banned from being a company director for 13 years as a result of the fraud.
The current Entatech business, which itself was bought out of administration in May, has not been connected with Tsai since 2015.
The latest problems for Tsai resulted from an application made by liquidators Begbies Traynor that alleged he breached the terms of the freezing order.
The liquidators had issued claims with an aggregate value of £38m against Tsai, on the basis of allegations that he used the company as a vehicle for fraud and dissipated the company’s assets for the benefit of himself and other parties, to the detriment of the company’s creditors.
On February 15 this year, they obtained a worldwide freezing order against Tsai’s assets, up to a maximum sum. However, Tsai breached the order in various ways, including by failing to surrender his Taiwanese passport, temporarily absconding to Taiwan, and breaching his asset disclosure obligations by submitting various and contradictory statements.
Gawain Moore from Walker Morris, the Leeds-based law firm which advised Begbies Traynor, said: “The decision is a helpful reminder of the extent of the court’s powers when policing orders generally and, in particular, when compelling compliance with freezing orders.
“It also provides a helpful overview of the considerations of the court when deciding on the appropriate sanctions for non-compliance with its orders.”
