1:00 pm, May 22, 2018
A CAR DEALER who bought and sold luxury vehicles has been banned from running companies for 13 years after failing to maintain adequate accounting records for millions of pounds.
Zaid Fares Al-Safee, 29, from west London, was a registered director of Exotic Global Ltd, which traded from Park West Garage, Underground Car Park, Park West Place, London, and sold new cars and light motor vehicles.
Unexplained trading activities included the purchase and sale of 14 luxury vehicles in excess of £1.2 million, VAT assessments totalling £498,106.80, the expenditure of a £318k loan, as well as the purchase and sale of 45 vehicles totalling £354,553 and two personalised number plates totalling £40,023.
The company was first incorporated in 2013 but in June 2015, after almost two years of trading, Exotic Global was placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation and an insolvency practitioner appointed. However, an unco-operative Al-Safee failed to deliver Exotic Global’s accounting records to the practitioner.
The Insolvency Service then carried out an in-depth investigation but the continued absence of accounting records prevented the government agency from being able to verify who had control of the company’s affairs.
This included the income and expenditure of the company, including Al-Safee’s remuneration, the acquisition or subsequent disposal of assets and the full nature of Exotic Global’s trading activities.
After a two-day trial before Insolvency and Companies Court judge Clive Jones at the High Court, Al-Safee was disqualified for 13 years, banning him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without the permission of the court.
After the case, Ken Beasley, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service, said: ‘Maintaining and keeping adequate accounting records is a legal requirement for all companies. Failure to do so is serious misconduct, and the length of Mr Zaid Fares Al-Safee’s disqualification reflects this.’
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