Both defendants had been prosecuted by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills for fraudulently concealing assets within their IVA proposals. At the hearing the District Judge said they couldn’t be sure that they had acted dishonestly.
Both were awarded costs orders. Counsel John Wyn Williams said in a recession, businessmen need to be careful when charged with offences under The Insolvency Act and need to guard against the many potential pitfalls in the legislation.