Indian-Origin Lettings Firm Director Banned For Improper Funds Transfer In UK

An Indian-origin director of a lettings company in south-east England has been banned from the promotion, formation or management of a company for seven years for failing to act in the best interests of a business.

Ghanshyam Sarup Batra was the appointed director in Harlow, Essex, of Dylan Lettings Worldwide Limited since its incorporation in May 2010.

The 58-year-old was under court-imposed restrictions when he transferred almost 106,000 pounds from the company's bank account into his own.

Ghanshyam Batra transferred almost 106,000 pounds from the company to his personal account, denying funds owed to creditors. The director stated the monies were owed to him for outstanding rent and other business-related expenditure, but no rental agreement was in place, Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Insolvent Investigations at the UK's Insolvency Service, said in a statement on Wednesday.

This significant ban should act as a warning to other directors who do not act in their company's best interests that we will take action where it is appropriate to do so, he said.

Dylan Lettings Worldwide Limited acted as a management organisation for three apartment blocks that had previously been converted from hotels.

The freeholds of the buildings were owned by three separate companies, whilst Ghanshyam Batra was the registered leaseholder on all the apartments.

In April 2017, Batra and the three companies were ordered by the court to pay a confidential settlement connected to 6.5 million pounds of arrears owed to mortgage lenders.

When the settlement was not paid, a Receiver was appointed by the court over the properties and the leaseholds.

Restrictions were then placed on Batra, limiting him from exercising his powers as a director of Dylan Lettings Worldwide or seek to act on its behalf without permission of the court or claimants.

In October 2017, the lettings company went into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation with liabilities of at least 571,000 pounds.

The liquidation of Dylan Lettings Worldwide, however, triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service, which found that Batra breached the court order when he transferred funds from the company's bank account into his own.

The first transfer of 50,000 pounds was made just 45 minutes after the Receiver was appointed. A further 49,000 pounds were transferred the following morning, leaving the company unable to pay its debts to creditors.

On March 4 this year, the Insolvency and Companies Court division of the High Court of England made a disqualification order for seven years against Ghanshyam Sarup Batra.

The ban started March 24 and means that Batra is banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company. He was also ordered to pay costs of more than 11,500 pounds.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of legally-binding restrictions.

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