Company director sentenced over accounting failure
Nalivaika was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court on Friday
- Published
The director of a Leeds-based construction firm has been given a suspended prison sentence after failing to keep up-to-date accounting records.
Eugenijus Nalivaika could not explain why his company, Niki Contractors Ltd, spent more than £800,000 on a fleet of 106 commercial vehicles.
Nalivaika, of Charlton Road in Leeds, was given a 15-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work when he appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Friday.
The 46-year-old had pleaded guilty to failing to keep accounting records at a hearing in February.
The Insolvency Service said Navilaika was appointed as the sole director of Niki Contractors in January 2020.
Its investigations revealed the company made more than 4,300 payments to 614 people labelled "wages" between April 2020 and January 2021.
Niki Contractors also made 106 payments totalling £869,670 to purchase vehicles, mainly older commercial vans, across a six-month period.
More than £4.5 million was paid to Niki Contractors from other companies in the same period.
'Strong signal'
Nalivaika failed to explain any of the payments and did not deliver company records to the Insolvency Service or the liquidator when requested.
The company was liquidated with liabilities of more than £2.5m and Nalivaika’s breaches had prevented the liquidator from being able to investigate the company’s accounts.
Mark Stephens, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said Nalivaika had enjoyed the benefits of running a limited company "without accepting the responsibilities that come with it".
"Directors must ensure proper records are kept, filed and preserved,"
"This is to protect consumers and other businesses who have dealings with the company.
"Nalivaika failed to do this and this sentence sends a strong signal to the business community that such a blatant disregard for keeping your accounts up to date will not be tolerated."
In addition to his suspended prison sentence, he was ordered to pay costs of £4,714.30.
He has also been banned from being a company director for seven years in separate civil proceedings brought by the Insolvency Service.
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