The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) publishes its second fourth round compliance report on the United Kingdom.

On 12 September 2017 the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr Costel Titu, former director of Titus Services 4 UK Ltd (Titus), for making false representations to the Court and the company’s liquidator. Mr Titu’s disqualification commenced on 3 October 2017 and will end on 2 October 2028.

Mr Titu attempted to undermine the validity of the appointment of Ms F Qureshi as Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidator by falsely claiming that he was not a director or shareholder at the time of the liquidator’s appointment.

This was in an attempt to stop recovery proceedings issued by the liquidator against Mr Titu and another, relating to various payments made by Titus to them and for cash withdrawals. The total amount claimed by the liquidator was £156,875.

Mr Titu attempted to undermine the validity of the liquidator’s appointment by falsely stating that he had no authority to appoint her as liquidator with the intended consequence of stopping the liquidator from pursuing him for amounts recoverable to the company.

On 5 May 2017, a final hearing in respect of the liquidator’s action was heard at Companies Court which found in favour of the liquidator and considered that the transaction complained of was a sham and that Mr Titu had attempted to mislead the liquidator and the Court into believing that he was not the sole director of Titus.

On 14 July 2016 notice of termination of Mr Titu’s directorship of Titus was filed at Companies House, with an effective date of 18 August 2014. The company has been in liquidation since 22 October 2014.

Anthony Hannon, Official Receiver in the Public Interest Unit, said:

The Insolvency Service will look closely at any evidence of misconduct and take appropriate action where directors have attempted to mislead insolvency professionals and the Court, as has happened in this case.

Titus Services 4 UK Ltd (CRO No. 06217488) was incorporated on 18 April 2007.

Mr Titu is of Dagenham, and his date of birth is February 1974.

On 22 October 2014 Ms F Qureshi of Parker Getty Business Rescue and Recovery was appointed as Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidator of Titus.

On 23 January 2017, the liquidator of Titus sought the assistance of the Official Receiver to see if the Share Purchase Agreement and directors’ resignation were genuine.

On 5 May 2017 the Official Receiver’s staff attended the final hearing of the Validity Application and decided that given that Mr Titu had made false representations to the Court and the Liquidator that it was in the public interest to carry out an investigation into this matter for disqualification purposes.

On 4 July 2017 the Insolvency Service wrote to Mr Titu stating that it was their intention to commence disqualification proceedings against him.

On 26 July 2017 solicitors for the Insolvency Service filed an application under S7(2) of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 seeking permission to commence out of time disqualification proceedings.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property 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 other restrictions]( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-insolvency-effect-of-a-disqualification-order

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, 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.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

The Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP will join BPP University Law School Students to help school children in Wimbledon today to decide whether Goldilocks is guilty of burgling the Three Bears.

Pupils at Bishop Gilpin primary school will take part in a mock trial of Goldilocks where they will decide whether Goldilocks should be found guilty and sent to prison for burglary and criminal damage.

The Streetlaw session, designed by BPP’s Pro Bono Centre, is aligned to the National Curriculum and explains the criminal trial process through the well-known fairytale, helping children learn about the legal system, courts and the people who appear in them in an interesting and enjoyable way.

The Solicitor General said:

Teaching children about their legal rights and responsibilities means they have a greater understanding of what they can and can’t do.

Public legal education helps raise confidence and skills and provides a legal foundation that stays with people throughout their lives.

These sessions not only have a practical and a beneficial effect upon our legal system but on young people’s lives. I’m looking forward to an enjoyable session.

Streetlaw is a national, public legal education project that is delivered by law students in universities across England and Wales. Students deliver interactive and engaging legal workshops that aim to educate community groups and school children about the law as it relates to them.

Victoria Speed, Director of Pro Bono at BPP University Law School, said:

Streetlaw is one of around thirty BPP pro bono projects delivering free legal advice and legal education across the country.

At BPP, we educate the next generation of lawyers. Our projects aim to improve access to justice and legal awareness in our communities.

At the same time, engaging in pro bono work really helps prepare students for practice as the real life experiences are invaluable.

“We hope to embed a sense of social responsibility in our students that stays with them throughout their careers.”

The Solicitor General will also visit the City of London University which has an extensive pro bono programme. He will meet law students who have been giving free legal advice – with guidance from qualified lawyers – to members of the public including victims of domestic violence

As part of the National Centre for Domestic Violence programme students are given full training to interview the clients over the phone and then fill in the necessary forms on line that would allow injunctions to be issued.

The Solicitor will also meet students taking part in the Centre for Criminal Appeals project which involves them reviewing miscarriage of justice cases and helping prepare them for submission to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The new paperless process, in operation at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court, means thousands of offenders caught dodging fares or using fraudulent tickets can now be punished more swiftly and effectively.

The system has been developed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) in partnership with Transport for London (TfL). It means TfL no longer have to manually process and physically deliver case papers to the court. Instead, prosecution evidence is now electronically transferred directly to the court. These cases are then considered by a magistrate and legal advisor on a laptop – freeing up court time to focus on more serious crimes.

Under the new system, Transport for London can prosecute some 18,000 commuter crimes a year in the capital more quickly and efficiently.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab said:

Using smart technology to punish fare dodgers swiftly and effectively is just one example of how our courts’ reform programme will strengthen the justice system.

We are investing £1billion to digitise the justice system – making it more accessible for all citizens, more sensitive for witnesses, and delivering better value for taxpayers’ money.

Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Head of Transport Policing, said:

We use the courts to tackle the minority of people who purposefully avoid paying their fares, licensed drivers and private hire operators who break the law, and companies who obstruct the pavements and streets.

That’s why we have worked with HMCTS to streamline what has historically been a labour intensive, paper heavy process. The real-time aspect of the system results in court notices being issued within weeks of an offence and prosecutions are concluded sooner so individuals and businesses receive a faster resolution.

The new system enables our Investigations and Prosecutions team more time to target illegal behaviour and bring those who break the law to justice.

The system has already:

• processed around 4,200 cases since April 2017 and returned 3,000 sentences
• removed the need for documents to be physically transported by staff between TfL and the court
• allowed results of cases to be obtained by TfL immediately
• made enforcement faster.

Future developments will include speeding up the process for those guilty pleas which can be fast tracked, and eventually for an online system to replace the paper based system, further improving response times. Plans are also in place to offer the system to other large public service organisations who prosecute thousands of cases a year where the potential benefits would then be magnified.

Note to editors:

Evidence shows offering people the chance to plead online in these kinds of cases actually means more respond than when we ask for pleas on paper. The process will mostly replace letters (that don’t work very well), and court hearings where the person doesn’t turn up, not physical court appearances.

Robert Adolf Mathilde Stitzinger and Omar Babbar Amighetti were each disqualified as directors for 15 years on 16 August 2017 for their part in a bank transaction scam involving Miami International Bank Ltd, a UK incorporated company.

The directors persuaded a US investor to pay €200,000 into a bank account held in Liechtenstein on the promise that the investment would yield a promised return of €10million within 15 days of payment.

The investor paid €200,000 into the Liechtenstein bank account in the name of Mr Stitzinger on 15 May 2014. The funds were never returned to the investor and no explanation was provided as to what happened.

A similar scam was operated in New Zealand also with the name “Miami International Bank Limited”. This scam attracted the attention of the FBI in the United States who issued warnings about that company on its website. A previous company director of the UK company, was shown as “president” of the New Zealand company.

A winding up order was made against Miami International Bank Ltd on 16 December 2015 upon the petition of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. Anthony Hannon, Official Receiver of Public Interest Unit (South) was appointed as liquidator.

Anthony Hannon, Official Receiver in the Public Interest Unit, said:

The Insolvency Service will look closely at any evidence of misconduct and take appropriate action where others have suffered as a result of directors actions, as has happened in this case.

Miami International Bank Ltd was incorporated on 2 June 2009 (CRN: 06922097) and remained a dormant company.

The Disqualification Order was pronounced by Chief Registrar Briggs on 16 August 2017, with the Deputy Official Receiver appearing on behalf of the Secretary of State. The defendants were not present or represented.

Mr Stitzinger and Mr Amighetti were appointed as directors of Miami International Bank Ltd on 22 July 2013.

Mr Robert Adolf Mathilde Stitzinger is of the Netherlands and his date of birth is August 1968.

Mr Omar Babbar Amighetti is of Costa Rica and his date of birth is February 1958.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company

• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership

• be a receiver of a company’s property

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, 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.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: