Bankruptcy Restrictions Order granted for Nottingham man who disposed of £50,000
A Nottingham man has been given a 9 year Bankruptcy Restrictions Order for disposing of £50,000 from the sale of jointly-owned family home.
Anthony Stirling, a bankrupt, who disposed of £50, 420 following the sale of his jointly owned Family home, has been hit with a 9-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Order.
An Insolvency Service investigation found that following this, there was a further disposal of £50,149 from the sale of his deceased mother’s home. His creditors received no material benefit from either transaction.
Mr. Stirling (59), a self employed builder, of Nottingham, was ordered by DJ MacMillan at The County Court of Nottingham, to be bound by the restrictions set out in insolvency law which a bankrupt is subject to until they are discharged from bankruptcy – normally 12 months – until 2 June 2025. In addition, he cannot manage or control a company during this period without leave of the court.
The investigation found that Mr. Stirling disposed of £50,420 from the sale of his former marital home to his wife, whilst his creditors who totaled £74,425 at the time received no material benefit form the funds.
He then disposed of £50,149 being his share of the sale proceeds of his deceased mother’s property to his brother. His creditors were owed £100,901 at the time and they received no material benefit form the transaction. Further to this, Mr. Stirling failed to declare his interest in this transaction to the Official Receiver as he was required to do under Insolvency law.
On 25 March 2015, a Bankruptcy Order was made against Mr. Stirling on a petition presented by a creditor. His total deficiency at the time was around £105,290.
Commenting on the case Gerard O’Hare, Official Receiver for Nottingham said,
On two separate occasions and whilst insolvent, Mr Stirling received in excess of £50,000 from property sales. He cynically disposed of the funds to his relatives and to the detriment of his creditors generally. He then failed to fully disclose the extent of the transactions to the Official Receiver.
This 9 year restriction should act as a deterrent to him and others from acting in the same way.
Notes to editors
The bankruptcy order was made on 25 March 2015 following a petition presented on 4 September 2014.
Anthony Stirling’s date of birth is 28 January 1957.
If the Official Receiver considers that the conduct of a bankrupt has been dishonest or blameworthy in some other way, he (or she) will report the facts to court and ask for a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (BRO) to be made. The court will consider this report and any other evidence put before it, and will decide whether it should make a BRO. If it does, the bankrupt will be subject to certain restrictions for the period stated in the order. This can be from 2 to 15 years.
These are restrictions set out in insolvency law that the bankrupt is subject to until they are discharged from bankruptcy – normally 12 months and include that bankrupts:
- must disclose their status to a credit provider if they wish to get credit of more than £500;
- who carry on business in a different name from the name in which they were made bankrupt, they must disclose to those they wish to do business with the name (or trading style) under which they were made bankrupt;
- may not act as the director of a company nor take part in its promotion, formation or management unless they have a court’s permission to do so;
- may not act as an insolvency practitioner, or as the receiver or manager of the property of a company on behalf of debenture holders;
Additionally, a person subject to a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order may not be a Member of Parliament in England or Wales.
The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.
Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.
Contact Press Office
Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187
Press Office
16th Floor, 1 Westfield Ave
London
E20 1HZ
Email press.office@insolvency.gov.uk
Media Manager 0303 003 1743
This service is for journalists only. For any other queries, please contact the Insolvency Enquiry Line.
For all media enquiries outside normal working hours, please contact the Department for Business and Trade Press Office on 0207 215 2000.
You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: