Leicester clothing boss jailed for six months

A Leicester clothing manufacturer has been jailed for six months after failing to provide adequate company accounting records.

Ezazali Ahmed Namaji, of Osbourne Road in Leicester, was the sole director of Miss Pebbles Clothing, a cut and trim garment manufacturer incorporated in February 2015.

The company traded from premises in Layton Road, Leicester, and employed up to 50 people until March 2016 when Ezazali Namaji placed the business into liquidation, owing the funds to the tax authorities and a further £44,000 to other creditors.

An Insolvency Service investigation found that the defendant had not kept adequate accounting records which meant the liquidator could not ascertain where cheque and debit card withdrawals totalling more than £983,000 had been spent.

Furthermore, during its 13 months of trading, Miss Pebbles Clothing failed to pay tax liabilities of more than £300,000. Some of this amount related to national insurance and PAYE payments after it was found the director was taking contributions from employees without passing them on.

Ezazali Namaji was sentenced to six months imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court after pleading guilty to failing to keep adequate accounting records. The defendant has also been banned from being a company director for a period of five years.

Glenn Wicks, chief envestigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Ezazali Ahmed Namaji was a negligent company director who failed to maintain company records. When Miss Pebbles ceased trading, it left serious losses of almost £345,000, with more than £301,000 alone owed to the tax authorities.

“Namaji’s unscrupulous conduct is a serious offence and this sentence should serve as a stark warning to others that we will investigate those that think they can flout their responsibilities as directors and cause harm and loss to the public purse.”