The High Court has disqualified Padraig Collery from being concerned in the management of a company for nine years, after finding that his conduct between 1991 and 1997 made him unfit for that role.
The order was made on an application by the Director of Corporate Enforcement under section 160(2)(e) of the Companies Act 1990. The Director relied exclusively on a court-ordered inspectors’ report into Ansbacher (Cayman) Limited and its affairs. Collery did not contest the report’s findings or the application, but the judge noted that the Director still had to satisfy the court that the statutory test was met.
The court considered only adverse findings about conduct after 1 August 1991, when the relevant provision came into force. The Director did not ask the court to consider earlier adverse findings, and the judge made no ruling on whether the provision could apply to pre-commencement conduct.
The inspectors’ report said Collery continued to maintain memorandum accounts associated with Ansbacher and later Hamilton Ross. It concluded there was evidence tending to show that, after August 1991, he knowingly assisted in unlicensed banking, failures to provide information required by company law, tax evasion and business conducted in a way that defrauded creditors, including Revenue authorities. These are findings and conclusions reported by the inspectors; the judgment does not describe a separate criminal prosecution or conviction.
The judge concluded that Collery’s conduct in relation to Ansbacher and Hamilton Ross from 1991 to 1997 made him unfit to manage a company. In setting the period, she assessed a 12-year term before mitigation. She cited the seriousness of the conduct, Collery’s banking experience and independent employment, and remuneration for work connected with the businesses. She reduced the period by three years, taking account of the time since the conduct, the absence of complaints about later conduct, his assistance to the inspectors and his acceptance of responsibility by not contesting the application.
The order disqualifies Collery for nine years from 9 March 2006. The Director did not seek costs, and no costs order was made. The judgment did not decide whether section 160(2)(e) applies to conduct before 1 August 1991.