The pair significantly under-declared the amount of tax their company owed to HM Revenue & Customs. Raja Usman, also known as Usman Raja, and his wife Khair Un Nisa, were directors of Umbrella Care. The company provided NHS workers to the care sector.

Investigations revealed the company under-declared more than £33m in tax to HMRC between 2017 and 2020. 

Usman was banned as a company director for 14-and-a-half years at an uncontested hearing of the High Court in London with the order starting from Tuesday [30 July 2024]. He was also ordered to pay costs of £5,399.10.

Nisa signed an 11-year disqualification undertaking in 2023, the IS said.

Umbrella Care was wound-up in 2020, with liquidators having recovered more than £12m in assets from the pair since then, the IS said.

“The pair, both of Stenson Road, Derby, knowingly submitted inaccurate VAT, PAYE and NIC [National Insurance Contributions] returns to HMRC on behalf of Umbrella Care between May 2017 and at least April 2020,” the IS said.

Lawrence Zussman, deputy head of company investigations at the IS, said: “Raja Usman and Khair Un Nisa deliberately under-declared the amount of tax Umbrella Care was expected to pay by tens of millions of pounds.

“This was money that should have been used to provide vital public services and investment in areas such as schools, hospitals and roads,” he said.

The disqualifications ban Usman and Nisa from being company directors until 2034 and 2039 respectively and the liquidators continue to recover millions in pounds of assets worldwide, the IS said.

Investigations into Usman and Nisa revealed that £12,031,159 in VAT and £21,596,982 in PAYE and NIC was under-declared to HMRC.

Umbrella Care was wound-up in court in November 2020 following a provisional liquidation granted on petition from HMRC.

Insolvency practitioners from Azets Holdings, who were the previous provisional liquidators of Umbrella Care, were then appointed as liquidators on the same day. The company went into liquidation owing more than £35m to HMRC.

The joint liquidators working with HMRC and solicitors from Wedlake Bell have conducted extensive investigations and litigation to recover around £5.2m from numerous bank accounts, IS said.

They have also traced the missing funds to 14 properties, which have been recovered and sold for roughly £7.3m.

Further property sales and investigations into funds transferred overseas and to third parties are expected to bring in an additional £1.5m, bringing the estimated total recoveries to around £14m.

Louise Brittain, joint liquidator at Azets, said: “Azets has conducted extensive investigations and litigation in this case to recover wrongfully removed company funds, and this has led to a considerable return to creditors.

“We are pleased that these actions have enabled the IS to obtain the disqualifications and undertakings that they have and this case demonstrates the strength of private and public sector working.”

The disqualifications prevent Usman and Nisa from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

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