Bankrupt who continued to run payroll company disqualified

A Birmingham bankrupt who continued to run payroll company despite being banned has been disqualified for nine years.

Addrees Ahmed (46) will be joined on the disqualified directors register by his wife, Robina Shaheen (42), also of Birmingham, after she allowed her husband to control the payroll company. Robina will be banned for six years.

Academy Management Services Limited was incorporated in August 2016 and Robina Shaheen was listed as one of the registered directors, while Addrees Ahemd was not appointed a director and never was during the company’s existence.

Addrees Ahmed was made bankrupt upon his own petition in December 2016 and that meant, amongst other restrictions, that he was restricted from acting as a director of a limited company.

But this did not stop Address Ahmed from acting as a director of the payroll company, while his wife played no role in the management of Academy Management Services and instead passed the control over to her husband.

In April 2017, the company entered into insolvency proceedings and despite having a duty to co-operate with the appointed liquidator of the company, Addrees Ahmed failed to maintain and/or deliver up Academy Management Services’ books and records.

This failure has meant that thelLiquidator and the Insolvency Service have been unable to establish why the payroll company failed to disclose to the tax authorities £91,510 worth of funds paid to Academy Management Services by a third party for contracted work.

Addrees Ahmed did not dispute that he acted in capacity as a director of Academy Management Services while being disqualified as he was bankrupt at the time and did not have permission from the court. He also did not dispute that he failed to deliver adequate accounting records to the liquidator.

Robina Shaheen did not dispute in her undertaking that she breached her duties to the payroll company by not playing an active management roll and passing control to her husband, while also failing to promote the success of Academy Management Services, failing to exercise independent judgement and failing to exercise reasonable care, skill or diligence.

Dave Elliott, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Both Addrees and Robina are culpable for their actions. Addrees knew of his restrictions, whilst Robina as a registered director failed in her duties to ensure the payroll company was managed properly.

“We will continue to investigate the conduct of directors and where there is sufficient evidence, as there was in this case, instigate disqualifications proceedings in the public interest.”