Banned! London agent cannot be a director after major tax offence

An agent has been banned from being a company director after tax offences involving hundreds of thousands of pounds, or possibly even more.

Hsin Lan Huang, from West London, has been banned for seven years,

This means she cannot act as director or be directly or indirectly involved in the formation or management of a company without court permission. 

Hsin Lan Huang was appointed the director of New Fortune Limited in January 2011 on the same day the company was incorporated. 

The company traded from an address in Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London, and the Insolvency Service says that for just under three years, Hsin Lan Huang failed to ensure New Fortune complied with its statutory tax obligations.

When the company entered into liquidation in November 2018, New Fortune owed the tax authorities more than £226,000.

In her disqualification undertaking, Hsin Lan Huang did not dispute that she failed to maintain and/or preserve sufficient accounting records. 

This means it’s not possible to verify when the company ceased trading or the legitimacy of transactions, including just under £2.5m worth of expenditure and payments worth just under £1.6m to two unknown bank accounts.

Hsin Lan Huang’s seven-year ban is effective from Tuesday October 6.

Lawrence Zussman, deputy head of insolvent investigations for the Insolvency Service, says: “Hsin Lan Huang … showed a total disregard to responsibilities as company directors. Much of the public service is funded by the correct amount of taxes being paid and [the] deceit has ultimately had impact on the public who rely on companies paying their correct taxes. [This] should serve as a warning to other directors who think they can do as they please.”