Former construction recruiter Mandair disqualified as director

Former construction industry labour supply firm boss Ravinder Mandair has been disqualified from holding company director positions until 2026 after causing losses of £1.45m to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Thu, 12 Mar 2015
Former construction industry labour supply firm boss Ravinder Mandair has been disqualified from holding company director positions until 2026 after causing losses of £1.45m to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

A statement from the Insolvency Service, released yesterday afternoon [11 March], said Mandair’s company, Worldwide Tradin Services, operated a scheme under which HMRC thought workers were registered for VAT and were eligible to be paid without deduction for income tax under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

Public Interest Unit official receiver Ken Beasley labelled the scheme a “sophisticated and lucrative attack on the public purse”.

The statement continued to say the company kept “black book” records of its dealings which were seized by liquidators and used to estimate that HMRC was owed £469k in VAT.

An Insolvency Service investigation found it was “unfeasible” for the company’s labourers to supply all the labour claimed and therefore discredited all labour supplies received by the company, amounting to £9m. VAT the company claimed on this was £1.45m, including the £469k in black book dealings. Income tax liability was not quantified by HMRC.

The investigation also found the company “failed to keep or deliver up proper records to the liquidator”, which meant cash withdrawals of £2.9m could not be explained.

In the statement, Beasley said there was evidence of “collusion” between the company, its supplier and accountants. “Mr Mandair’s lengthy disqualification reflects the severity of the misconduct perpetrated,” Beasley said.

The company’s most recent annual return, filed to Companies House in 2010, lists Mandair as the sole director and primary shareholder of the company.

Provisional liquidator Tim Bramston of Griffins Insolvency Practitioners was appointed on 25 April 2012 following a winding up petition by HMRC.

He found the company had assets amounting to £141.6k with liabilities of £2.8m and a resulting deficiency to unsecured creditors of £2.7m.

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