Rogue developers banned for ripping-off investors

Grant Prior 6 years ago
Share

Six directors have been banned for a total of 54 years after they misled more than 300 people to invest £12m into residential property developments in the north of England.

Four of the directors are based in Malaysia while the remaining two live in The Wirral and Kilburn, North-West London.

The Insolvency Service investigation centred on property firm Absolute Living Developments Limited.

The company sold apartments off-plan to investors who were largely based in Asia.

It is estimated that Absolute Living Developments secured at least £12m from people to invest in residential property schemes that were in various states of development.

Daniel Mark Harrison (38), from Kilburn North-West London, was the last of the directors to be disqualified and he was banned for six years through a court order on 28 November 2018.

During Harrison’s hearings, the court heard that Absolute Living Developments Limited was incorporated in November 2013, with registered offices in Liverpool.

The company sought out investments to convert commercial buildings into residential properties.

The developments were located predominately in Bradford and Greater Manchester.

People complained that having invested through Absolute Living Developments, the schemes had not been fully completed and the apartments were unliveable.

Absolute Living Developments was wound-up by order of the courts in April 2016 following the presentation of a petition by Bradford Council due to unpaid rates and investigations that followed principally focused on four developments – three in Bradford and one in Manchester.

Investigators discovered various examples of misconduct by Absolute Living Developments facilitated by the directors.

The company provided misleading and incomplete information about the developments to investors, meaning people couldn’t carry out due diligence.

Absolute Living Developments had no ability to ensure the terms of contracts with investors could be met and failed to provide adequate safeguards for money obtained from investors.

For one of the developments, Absolute Living Developments requested completion payments from investors despite the development not being completed.

And the company signed charges over Absolute Living Developments’ assets, which meant that a third party owns them and there are no remaining assets in the liquidation to pay creditors.

An independent insolvency practitioner has been appointed in this case to investigate recovery of assets for the benefit of creditors.

The liquidator’s actions are ongoing and to date they have received claims from creditors in excess of £68 million.

Ken Beasley, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service said: “This was a complex investigation, considering the amount of money that was invested, not all of the directors were based in the UK and we worked with several other authorities.

“We want to draw attention to these rogue directors so we can alert people about the risks involved when investing, while also warning that we will investigate and tackle those that set out to deliberately rip people off by misrepresenting the investment opportunity on offer.”

Disqualified directors

Kien Cheong Yew (40) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Disqualified from 29 January 2018 to 28 January 2030 (12 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Ameerali Bin Abas (39) from Selangor, Malaysia. Disqualified from 27 June 2018 to 26 June 2027 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Andrea Nicole Pacquiao Pieter (30) from Selangor, Malaysia. Disqualified from 20 March 2018 to 19 March 2027 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Adrianne Mei Kwan Nyau (40) from The Wirral. Disqualified from 14 December 2017 to 13 December 2026 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Chi Yeun Leong (68) from Bangsar, Malaysia. Disqualified from 21 December 2017 to 20 December 2026 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Daniel Mark Harrison (38) from Kilburn North-West London. Disqualified from 28 November 2018 to 27 November 2024 (6 years) as a result of a court order.

Latest news

Breyer Group battles for survival as rivals circle

Housing maintenance firm fights three winding up petitions in a month
5 hours ago

Careys facing £2.4m claim by developer over demolition cartel

Giant Hong Kong developer claims it was overcharged on Lots Road Power Station job
5 hours ago

Lendlease Construction renamed Bovis

US private equity firm completes £35m purchase of UK contracting business and rebrands
4 hours ago

Multiplex profit drops a third as revenue rises to £780m

Spate of new orders sets contractor up for three years of work
5 hours ago

Galliford Try and Breheny land latest Sizewell C road deals

More infrastructure deals for new nuclear power station
21 hours ago

Worker trapped in collapsed septic tank pit

Contractor and director fined after worker suffers multiple fractures
6 hours ago

Homes England buys stalled Broad Marsh site

Demolition to finally be completed as developer hunt begins
17 hours ago

Vistry go-ahead for 353 homes at Rochester Riverside

Work to start on next phase of Kent town regeneration at end of this year
1 day ago

M&E firm J S Wright collapsed owing £19m

Trade creditors hit for £11.4m by employee-owned Midlands firm
1 day ago

Right to work checks to be extended to self-employed

Government plans crackdown on illegal working and rogue employers
1 day ago

Midlands developer turns to London with £1bn resi schemes trio

SevenCapital plans 1,000 flats in Kensington, Islington and the Isle of Dogs projects
1 day ago

Deck falls off huge scissor lift at Winvic site

Two men seriously injured as platform plunges to the ground
4 days ago

Weston targets Build to Rent with new division

Weston Partnerships signs first deals with asset managers and councils
1 day ago

Bouygues seals deal for £119m Cardiff college campus

Construction to start in June on two new buildings
4 days ago

£140m cash injection to speed-up flood defence schemes

Funding part of £2.65bn investment over the next two years
1 day ago

Bid race starts for £15bn schools framework refresh

DfE throws framework open to more contractors
4 days ago

Berkeley’s £600m Borough Triangle project approved

Controversial scheme features two towers of 38 and 44-storeys
5 days ago

London Mayor calls in blocked 600-bed student scheme

Refused 20-storey London PBSA block may still be built
4 days ago

HG to build 500-bed London Stratford student scheme

Work will start later this year subject to gateway 2 safety approval
5 days ago

Arrest after pedestrian death on construction site

Tragedy during site preparation works for new Wigan car park
4 days ago

British Steel threatens closure of Scunthorpe blast furnaces

Chinese owners say sectional steel and rail supplies will be maintained
5 days ago

Planning green light for Sheffield warehouse site

Existing factories to be demolished in new scheme for Rula Developments
4 days ago

New rail property company to unlock land for 40,000 homes

First four sites released in Newcastle, Cambridge, Manchester, and Nottingham
5 days ago

Drainage specialist Subscan files administration notice

Specialist employing 131 people files court notice
5 days ago

Four win Network Rail £300m engineering design deal

Eastern region deal will include design for Northern Powerhouse Rail
5 days ago

Funding go-ahead for Banwell bypass after fresh cost hike

Galliford Try contract rises £14m to £64m after final design change
5 days ago

Graham wins Southport £75m Marine Lakes Centre

Firm replaces Kier which parted ways with backer Sefton Council
6 days ago

Chancellor unveils extra £2bn capital spend a year

Construction promised a defence dividend in military base and homes upgrade work
6 days ago

McLaren confirms subcontractor team on £135m warehouse job

Work starts on TN2 Gateway site in Kent.
6 days ago

Vistry profits slump after site costs reporting debacle

House builder launches internal whistle-blowing service in business culture review
6 days ago

Contractor services