News Articles:   Full Article Detail

Article Date:	27/10/2006
Article Title:	PUBLISHER CLOSED DOWN BY CIB
A publishing scam was shut down by the High Court, following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) of the Insolvency Service. Centrepoint Nationwide Limited claimed to be a charity publisher which targetted small businesses to pay for adverts in a booklet supporting safety awareness. Despite promising a wide circulation of the booklets and chasing businesses for payment, the booklet did not exist and Centrepoint never placed any adverts. However, the company's director did claim to have the number of a printer in his pocket. CIB's investigation found that Centrepoint had received £453,847 from over 2,000 customers in an eight month period between January to August 2005. The company had kept inadequate accounting records so investigators were unable to determine £202,948 other than to identify that £74,318 went to the director. Centrepoint had also breached charities legislation because the company had no charitable connections and the company had failed to specify to businesses donating money for adverts how much of the money they received would be given to charity. The registered office and place business of Centrepoint Nationwide Ltd is at Unit G1, 51 Bengal Street, Manchester M4 6LN. It was incorporated and commenced trading in June 2004. The petition to wind up the company in the public interest was presented on 11th August 2006 under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 following an investigation conducted under section 447 of the Companies Acr 1985 by the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service. The Official Receiver was appointed as provisional liquidator on 18th August 2006. It was compulsorily wound up on 11th October 2006. Centrepoint was an identical business to one shut down in October 2005 called Help at Hand (UK) Limited with the same director Mr Wayne Chadwick who operated the business in the same way. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver, to establish why they became insolvent. The Insolvency Service also carries out confidential enquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, through Companies Investigation Branch. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession; deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures; assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees; provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds; and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.