Indian-Origin Bankrupt Man Jailed In UK For Hiding Property

An Indian-origin man based in a spa town in central England, who had his bankruptcy restrictions extended for 10 years over financial misconduct three years ago, has now been sentenced to eight months in prison after he failed to disclose rental property to his trustees.

Sukhwinderjit Singh Sanghera, also known as Sukhi Sanghera, from Leamington Spa was made bankrupt in August 2017 by an order of the County Court in Warwick, with debts of over 140,000 pounds.

He had his affairs passed into the control of the Official Receiver for the UK's Insolvency Service and he was obliged to disclose all his assets to officials, including property.

However, he failed to mention that he was the sole owner of a rental property in Coventry that generated a monthly income of 1,900 pounds.

He appeared at Warwick Crown Court in the West Midlands last week and was sentenced on four counts of fraud.

According to the Insolvency Service, the court noted that Sanghera was a "profoundly flawed and dishonest man...who showed a flagrant disregard for the law and authorities". His eight-month sentence on all four charges contrary to the Fraud Act 2006 will be served concurrently.

"At multiple points Sukhi Sanghera had the opportunity to be honest and disclose to his trustees that he benefited from a rental property. Instead, Sukhi Sanghera went to great lengths to conceal the property in Coventry through fraud and deception to avoid paying his creditors what they were owed," said Glenn Wicks, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service.

"The courts have recognised the severity of Sukhi Sanghera's actions and his custodial sentence demonstrates the risks people take if they don't declare all their assets when in a bankruptcy process," he said.

As part of his bankruptcy, Sanghera was obliged to disclose all his assets to the Official Receiver and his trustees, including property. Due to the risk he posed to creditors, the Official Receiver previously sought further bankruptcy restrictions against Sukhi Sanghera.

In August 2019, the government accepted a 10-year bankruptcy restriction undertaking from him. Following investigations by the Official Receiver, the property was subsequently registered as an asset in Sukhi Sanghera's estate and then sold, raising more than 70,000 pounds towards the bankruptcy order.

Bankruptcy restrictions are usually lifted after a year but in this case the UK government imposed a 10-year undertaking from Sukhi Sanghera after he did not dispute that he failed to disclose the property to the Official Receiver.

The restrictions meant the 53-year-old was blocked from borrowing more than 500 pounds without telling a lender he is bankrupt, could not act as a director of a company without the court's permission and is banned from being an elected councillor in his local district.

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