Boss whose failed firm owed £200k in tax jailed

Director Vezubuhle Ndlovu failed to provide books and records showing how his business was operating

A company director whose business went bust owing HM Revenue & Customs more than £200,000 has been jailed after failing to supply the paperwork asked of him.

Vezubuhle Ndlovu, from Bury, Greater Manchester, failed to respond to any requests for information since his firm VN Electrics Ltd was liquidated in 2019, the Insolvency Service said.

A criminal investigation began after he was banned for seven years from being a company director in 2020 but he again failed to engage with the investigation team.

The 41-year-old was jailed for 10 months at Manchester Crown Court after admitting breaches of the Insolvency Act and Companies Act.

The Insolvency Service said Ndlovu, of Spinney Drive, had failed to deliver accounting records to the liquidator as legally required.

Chief investigator David Snasdell said: "Vezubuhle Ndlovu’s offending was persistent and he has shown no insight into his criminal actions.

"If a company fails to keep proper records it exposes creditors and trading partners to unacceptable levels of risk. A company that does not keep records is more likely to fail and the receiver or insolvency practitioner will be unable to identify and take steps to recover the company’s assets.

"Ndlovu failed in his statutory duties to deliver up-to-date accounting records and at no point engaged with investigators when asked to do so."

No-show interview

Ndlovu was the sole director of VN Electrics which he set up in May 2017, with the firm’s business described on Companies House records as "non-specialised wholesale trade".

The Insolvency Service said it had written to him on three separate occasions after it was wound-up, reminding him of his statutory duty to preserve the company’s books and records and to deliver them where required.

He failed to respond and did not turn up to an interview at the receiver’s office.

The Insolvency Service said his failures meant it was impossible to establish if sales and purchases of more than £1m were the true level of VN Electrics’ income and expenditure between August 2017 and February 2019.