Ex-director sentenced for failing to keep proper company records

A Bradford man has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and 150 hours of community work after pleading guilty to failing to keep adequate company records while director of Crownsbury Ltd.

John Thomas Hanbury, 63, had been appointed director of Crownsbury in 2016, and the company began operating a payroll processing bureau.

The business went into administration in July that year but Hanbury failed to provide adequate accounting records to the Joint Administrators.

Further investigations by the Insolvency Service found various large payments could not be properly verified or explained, and in August 2018 Hanbury was disqualified as a director for seven years.

Prior to this Hanbury had been found guilty of assisting in the supply of controlled drugs, receiving a suspended sentence which was still in force for this prosecution.

His existing disqualification undertaking, which runs to 2025, means he cannot, directly or indirectly, be involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company without the permission of the court.

Julie Barnes, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Company directors must fulfil their legal obligations and John Hanbury totally reneged on his responsibilities.

“John Hanbury’s sentence clearly demonstrates that if rogue directors fail in their duties, they will be investigated by the Insolvency Service and could lose the privilege of limited liability trading or ultimately risk facing a criminal prosecution.”