Allegations of dishonest conduct are serious on many levels - they can often lead to disqualification as a director followed by personal claims by liquidators. And even criminal proceedings. Our brilliant team can help. We have dealt with claims of this nature since 2002. Call us today for assistance.
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A company director we successfully defended against disqualification
What happens if a director’s conduct is found to be dishonest? The answer is nearly always disqualification from acting as a director. If the person had a previously unblemished character, that can be taken into account in terms of mitigation of the director disqualification period.
There are numerous examples of dishonest conduct ranging from
- the sale of property without the knowledge or consent of the owner;
- depriving individuals or businesses of assets by intentionally misleading them or making misrepresentations; or
- issuing cheque payments where it is known that no funds exist to satisfy such payments.
Although proceedings for director disqualification, or in respect of any proceedings brought against a director personally for compensation orders on behalf of the company or a creditor, are generally issued in civil courts, allegations of fraud or dishonesty will require a higher level of proof in support. Accordingly such allegations are often not issued lightly as the claimant must reach a higher bar in proving its case.
When considering evidence in response to allegations of dishonesty involving “deals” which have gone wrong, the court will look at a variety of matters including:
- whether the deal in question was simply “too good to be true”;
- whether it was simply implausible for the director to believe that what was happening was as result of shear good fortune or hard work within such a short period of time. The court will consider what a reasonable director in such circumstances would have thought about the deal; and
- did the director put any difficult and awkward questions out of his/her mind in pursuit of the deal?
A director disqualification order can also be made in criminal proceedings by the court in addition to any fine or order for committal. This will normally relates to allegations of fraud or money laundering/proceeds of crime prosecutions.
Please contact one of our friendly expert director disqualification solicitors now for your consultation. At Francis Wilks & Jones, we have all the director disqualification experience needed to deal with any type of disqualification problem. Feel free to look at our website and the many different examples of cases where we have successfully assisted our clients.
Over the ten years we have worked together, FWJ continue to achieve exceptional results year on year. Andy Wilks and the team have been a pleasure to work with and have always provided pragmatic, commercial and accurate advice on a wide range of matters. FWJ have become an integral part of our business and we cannot recommend them highly enough.
A longstanding client whom we have advised on various matters
