We interrupt our 24-hour coverage of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng to bring you news from the Insolvency Service, who have announced that Daniel Patchett, a self-confessed gambling addict, a former director of DRP Distribution, has received a 20-month sentence (suspended for 18 months) in addition to 200 hours of community service for acting in the management of a company whilst an undischarged Bankrupt.
In an investigation to rival the excellent The Capture on BBC 1 the Service found that Patchett was corresponding with Royal Mail regarding outstanding invoices and payments made, where DRP Distribution’s accountants confirmed that most of the communication came from Patchett during this period. In an advanced case of snitchiness a number of suppliers to DRP further confirmed to the Insolvency Service that they understood Patchett was the director of the company, despite his Bankruptcy, where he deliberately concealed his activity and income to avoid making payments to his creditors.
The writing was on the wall when Patchett informed the Official Receiver that he no longer worked at DRP Distribution just a month into his Bankruptcy and therefore could pay only ‘a token gesture amount’, when he was due to be making monthly payments of around £400 to his creditors. He provided a P45 form as evidence.
However, during his Bankruptcy, Patchett continued to manage DRP Distribution and received over £30,000 from them, additional hidden income of nearly £40,000 which DRP paid to his wife, and a further £28,000 which he withdrew from the business in cash.
Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, Julie Barnes, said: ‘Patchett was fully aware both of his responsibility not to act as a director of a limited company given he was Bankrupt, and also of his duty to disclose all assets and details of his income to the Official Receiver'.
