The director of a Northern Ireland haulage firm has been disqualified for five years after he allowed a banned director to manage his company and raise fraudulent invoices.
The Department for the Economy (DfE) accepted the disqualification undertaking from Gareth Warde, in respect of his conduct as director of family-run Trevor Warde Groupage Services in Newry.
The company entered liquidation in May 2014 with estimated total assets available for creditors of £12,788 and liabilities to unsecured creditors of £1,202,735.
The DfE said Warde permitted a third party to act as a de-facto director between 17 November 2003 and 19 August 2007 while that third party was subject to a disqualification order.
Warde allowed this person to continue to manage and control the company until 2010, during which time total sales invoices of £934,407 were raised in the name of another company and the proceeds diverted away from the firm for the benefit of the third party personally.
The DfE added that the unfit conduct was not disputed and that proceedings are continuing against another director.
