The creditor's report into the Precision Training scandal has been released by the Insolvency Service. What has been revealed is that there will be no meeting for creditors as there has been no money discovered by the investigation team.
Of more importance are four revelations, one of which will come as no surprise to all those who lost money to the husband and wife team, Nichola and Salim Shivji.
When forming the company, Nichola Shivji was made main director with Salim being only "company secretary". This was so that the DIUS license to sponsor students would not be a problem as his criminal records would have meant no license.
The second revelation is confirmation that the Shivji's, along with their Filipino partners, set up a very short lived and disastrous call center in the Philippines. There were stories previously about this, along with complaints from call center staffers who were unceremoniously dumped with no pay.
Then there are the twin bombshells which are more likely to end up with criminal prosecutions, aside from the obvious ones of fraud and that of trading whilst insolvent, which are in respect of Value Addet Tax (VAT) and withholding taxes of employees.
There were many rumors that Salim Shivji had been convicted of drugs offences, the admission that although Nichola Shivji was in charge of sales and officially the husband was company secretary, he was in overall day to day control of the company. They had obviously been aware that an application for a license to sponsor overseas students, then called the DIUS register, would have almost certainly entailed a criminal records check which would have revealed his criminal past.
The admission of the Philippine call center fiasco, along with the scandal Precision Training itself which left over 1,200 students with no qualifications, is the matter of accounts and monies which have been hidden from the investigation authorities. As seen in the 65 page DTI investigation report, there have been accounts which do not tally, including less than £500 being recorded as being spent by the Shivji's whilst in Manila.
As evidenced in the creditors report, Mrs Shivji alone spent at least 2 weeks in the Philippines, whilst her husband also spent at least 2 weeks there but the figures recorded as spending would not seem credible, as well the setting up and running of a call center office, even if it only lasted a risibly laughable 2 weeks. This is a serious indication that the Shivji's are still hiding certain bank accounts, along with possibly other credit cards and possibly other, as yet, undisclosed funds.
The DTI, in the form of the Insolvency Service, can, when they see proof, bring charges for trading whilst insolvent as well as fraudulent trading. They have told Balita Pinoy they are not at this stage yet as their investigations are still ongoing. However, the one government department which has more teeth, and sometimes acts almost as a pit-bull terrier, is the dreaded tax man.
There are 2 nightmares now looming for the Shivji's, the fact of a possible Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud, as well as that of not paying their empoyees withholding taxes (which they deducted from the employees salaries).
The taxman in the UK is known as Her Majesties Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Until 5 years ago the general taxation department and that of the customs were separate entities when they were merged into one body.
In relation to the withholding taxes and National Insurance payments, there is already proof these payments were deducted from employees wages but not remitted to the British government by HMRC, which would constitute prima facie evidence of theft.
The VAT issue is slightly more complicated by the fact that officially Precision Training were supposed to be an educational establishment which is exempt from VAT. However, as they were also placing the students in workplaces (care homes, etc), this may be grounds for saying they were also in the employment business.
Whatever the results of the investigations, and possible proceedings from the taxman and Insolvency Service, this story has not closed its final chapter yet.
Double click the image below to read the report:
Posted at: 07:49 | Add Comment
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