County Antrim directors accept disqualification

The Department of the Economy (the Department) accepted forfeiture undertakings from the executives of a food, drink and tobacco business.

The engagements were received for twelve years from James Michael O’Neill (80) of Harberton Drive, Belfast and Conor O’Neill (49) of Malone Hill Park, Belfast, in respect of their conduct as directors of Botl Wine & Spirit Merchants Ltd. .

The company operated in the sale of food, drink and tobacco out of Unit 11, Building 10 Central Park, Mallusk, Belfast. The Company entered into Administration on 4^e July 2018 with an estimated creditors deficit of £ 3,908,170. There was a total of £ 300,000 in share capital resulting in an estimated membership deficit of £ 4,208,170.

The Department accepted the undertakings to disqualify James Michael O’Neill and Conor O’Neill on September 22, 2021 based on the following improper conduct which was not contested for the sole purpose of the disqualification process:

• Misuse of the invoice discount facility by inflating the Company’s sales ledger, receivables from receivables and receivables ledger to withdraw money from Close Invoice Finance Limited causing a loss to Close Invoice Finance Limited of £ 2,511,722;

• Ensure that the Company continues to negotiate in the event of an insolvency from April 30, 2017 until at least the date of administration, to the detriment of secured and unsecured creditors;

• failing to maintain and / or keep and / or deliver at an adequate level, the accounting records of the Company, in accordance with article 386 of the Companies Act 2006, which were sufficient to show and explain the transactions of the Company and, as such, disclose with reasonable precision, at all times, the financial situation of the Company;

• Failure to file annual declarations / confirmation declarations for the period ended August 14, 2015, August 14, 2016 and August 14, 2017 within the prescribed deadlines.

• In the absence of filing of the annual accounts for the years ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2017 and the annual accounts for the years ended September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2015 were not filed within the prescribed time limit;

The Ministry accepted 19 exclusion commitments during the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2021.

Notes to Editors:

1. Insolvency practitioners acting as voluntary liquidators, administrative trustees and administrators have a duty to report unsuitable conduct to the Insolvency Service of the Department of the Economy.
2. The Department’s objective is to initiate disqualification proceedings against executives of bankrupt companies who have abused the privilege of limited liability status through negligence, incompetence or lack of commercial probity. The legislation contained in the Disqualification of Company Directors (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (“the Order 2002”) is intended for the protection of the public and the business community, but its application should not interfere with a real business.
3. In cases where a person is the subject of an exclusion order issued by the court or an exclusion undertaking accepted by the ministry, that person should not be a director of a company, act as sequestration of the assets of a company or in any way whatsoever, whether directly or indirectly, deal with or participate in the promotion, constitution or management of a company unless authorized by the Tribunal de Grande Instance. A disqualified person cannot be granted permission to act as an insolvency practitioner.
4. Article 9 of the 2002 decree provides that when a director is declared unfit, he must be recused for a minimum period of two years and a maximum of fifteen years. The courts have ruled that the level of severity of unworthy behavior can be divided into three brackets, with the upper bracket of periods exceeding ten years reserved for particularly serious cases, six to ten years reserved for cases not deserving of the upper bracket. and two to five years for cases where, although the exclusion is mandatory, the case is less serious.
5. The 2002 ordinance also allows administrators, with the approval of the ministry, to avoid the need for a court hearing by proposing an acceptable prohibition undertaking. This has exactly the same legal effect as a restraining order made by the court, and will usually include an appendix identifying the improper conduct of the director. The consequences of failing to comply with a Disqualification Commitment are the same as those for failing to comply with a Disqualification Order.
6. If someone contravenes a disqualification order or their disqualification undertaking, they can commit a criminal offense and can go to jail for up to two years or face a fine or both. Anyone with information suggesting that a disqualified person has acted in violation of this provision should contact the Insolvency Service Administrators Disqualification Unit on 028 90 548582.
7. The disqualification period begins at the end of 21 days from the day the disqualification commitment was accepted by the ministry.
8. follow us on Twitter.
9. For media inquiries contact the DfE press office at [email protected]
10. The Executive Information Service operates an after hours service for media inquiries only between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Monday to Friday and weekends and holidays. The permanent press attaché can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

Share this page