Neath RFC owner Geraint Hawkes banned from being director

Geraint Hawkes, the owner of Neath RFC, failed to declare £1.5m in VAT

The owner of Neath RFC and his mother have been banned from being company directors for 10 years after failing to declare more than £1.5m in VAT.

Geraint Hawkes, 48, and Janis Hawkes, 75, were given the ban at a hearing in Cardiff on Wednesday.

Judge Andrew Keyser QC said the pair had been involved in a "serious case" of unpaid VAT.

The decision followed a hearing in the High Court Chancery Division sitting in Cardiff last month.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills brought the legal action against F G Hawkes (Western) Limited after it emerged the family-run company had under-declared £1,523,452 of VAT between April 2010 and April 2011.

Mr Hawkes said he knew nothing about the under-declaring but the judge deemed his evidence to be "wholly incredible" and "deliberately false".

The company accounts were also found to be "materially misleading" in regards to a loan made to Neath Rugby Limited.

In 2010, a £742,805 debt was said to be owed by the club to F G Hawkes Limited but was never intended to be repaid.