Crime Solicitors

The managing director of a company has been disqualified, after an Insolvency Service investigation found he had been raising false or duplicate invoices.

Malcolm Frederick Thorpe, 46 – Managing Director of CTL European Ltd – has been disqualified for seven years for raising 326 false or duplicate invoices over two separate periods, which were submitted to a factoring company and caused losses to them of at least £124,670.

Thorpe was a director from 15 July 2010 until the date the company ceased trading on 3 October 2014, when it went into administration with an estimated deficiency of £177,551.

The matters of unfitness which Thorpe did not dispute in the Disqualification Undertaking were that, while a director of CTL European Limited (CTL), he failed to take adequate action or follow company procedure, which resulted in CTL obtaining funds from a factoring company to which CTL was not entitled.

Chief Investigator at The Insolvency Service, Robert Clarke, said:

“Using false documents is contrary to the conduct expected of a company director – and The Insolvency Service has strong enforcement powers, which we will not hesitate to use to remove dishonest or reckless directors from operating a business in an environment with the benefit of limited liability.”

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