Press release

Insolvency Service reprimands regulator body for the first time

The Insolvency Service has today issued a reprimand – the first time such powers have been used – against the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for regulatory failings.

From:
The Insolvency Service
Published
30 June 2023

The Insolvency Service, which has oversight of the bodies responsible for regulation of Insolvency Practitioners in the UK, has today issued a reprimand for the first time against the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

ICAEW is one of the four Recognised Professional Bodies which regulates licenced Insolvency Practitioners in Great Britain. The reprimand relates to failures by ICAEW after restrictions were imposed on Adrian Duncan, an Insolvency Practitioner based in London.

Duncan was prohibited from taking on any new insolvency appointments, but ICAEW was found to have failed to monitor whether Duncan was adhering to these restrictions, nor did it take steps to ensure that any estate funds Duncan was managing were subject to the appropriate financial controls. It is understood that Duncan has absconded having misappropriated nearly £4 million in estate funds.

Claire Hardgrave, Head of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation Section at the Insolvency Service, said:

We take the integrity of the insolvency regime and regulation of Insolvency Practitioners extremely seriously.

While the vast majority of licensed Insolvency Practitioners work to a high standard, where failings are identified and there is wrongdoing we will not hesitate to act.

The public needs to have confidence in the regulatory regime, and it is important for lessons to be taken from this case.

The reprimand was delivered in accordance with Sections 391J and 391K of the Insolvency Act 1986, after the Insolvency Service identified the failings by ICAEW.

Statement of Reprimand by the Secretary of State

PDF, 128 KB, 3 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Background information

The reprimand relates to two specific omissions:

  1. Between 27 January 2021 and 7 September 2021, ICAEW failed to conduct searches of the London Gazette, or to make equivalent enquiries, to establish if Adrian Duncan was complying with the licence restriction imposed upon him on 3 September 2020 which prohibited him from taking on any new insolvency appointments.
  2. Between 12 August 2020 and 7 September 2021, ICAEW failed to take steps to ensure that estate funds for which Adrian Duncan was responsible were subject to appropriate financial controls.

If any clients of Adrian Duncan believe they did not receive the service they should have done, they should contact the Administrators of Savants Covenant Advisory Limited and Savants Restructuring Limited, Kelly Mitchell and Carl Jackson of Quantuma for further details of any possible recoveries within the Administrations. The Administrators can be contacted via: savants@quantuma.com.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

Contact Press Office

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:

Published 30 June 2023