Insolvency Service Allegedly Shared Case Data

The Insolvency Service has reportedly dismissed three members of staff at the Official Receiver “following an investigation into case data being improperly shared with two Insolvency Practitioners”, and the incident has been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office, as the “relevant prosecuting authority”.

No comment was made by the Insolvency Service on allegations of insolvency cases being wrongfully shared by the three staff in return for payment or gifts from IPs.

The alleged misconduct has apparently been reported to the regulatory body for the two unnamed IPs alleged to be involved.

Newspaper reports this morning claim that “a senior industry source, who asked not to be named” said that they had previously reported concerns to the Insolvency Service that staff at the OR were not ensuring the fair distribution of cases from the rota, and were instead marketing attractive cases to private sector IPs in return for gifts.

The source is reported to have claimed that this has been “going on for decades” and is part of an alleged wider problem of collusion between the OR and IPs, supposedly “one of the worst-kept secrets of insolvency”, concerning creditor services divisions of IP firms.

The Insolvency Service has reportedly declined to comment on whether further investigations are being carried out into these wider issues.

A spokesman for the Insolvency Service said: “We can confirm that three people were dismissed following an investigation into case data being improperly shared with two Insolvency Practitioners.

“The Insolvency Service takes the security of data extremely seriously, which is why immediate action was taken in this case and these people were dismissed last year.

“We have reported this incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office, who are the relevant prosecuting authority, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the regulatory body for Insolvency Practitioners.” (But not all Insolvency Practitioners...)