The High Court has granted a judgment of €12.4 million against two directors of a logistics firm who allegedly misused the company's funds, failed to declare its income to Revenue and allegedly unlawfully availed of Covid support schemes during the pandemic.
The judgment was made, on a joint and severable basis, against Stewart Alexander and Bill Henry who are directors of Boxer Logistics Ltd in Finglas, Dublin, which had traded as B Logistics before it was placed into liquidation last year.
Judgment was sought against the two directors by insolvency practitioners Tom Murray and Tom Musiol, who in March 2022 were appointed as liquidators to the firm. B Logistics had provided delivery services for commercial companies including Ikea and Buy it Direct.
On Monday, Ms Justice Miriam O'Regan agreed Mr Alexander and Mr Henry should be made personally liable for the company's debts after being informed that the two directors had allegedly continually underdeclared the firm's true income and had underpaid its taxes, including corporation tax, PRSI and VAT.
The court heard that the firm owes Revenue over €6 million.
The court was also told that €250,000 of company money was paid by bank draft to a Ms Paula Loredana Hutu, a former employee of the firm two weeks before the business went into liquidation.
The company had allegedly misrepresented its financial position to Revenue in order to benefit from the Temporary Covid-19 Wages Subsidy and the Employee Wage Subsidy Schemes, it is claimed. It is further claimed it received €1.9 million.
Due to the director's manipulation of the company's finances, the liquidators said Mr Alexander and Mr Henry owe the company itself a sum of over €6 million.
The liquidators had sought payment from the directors of that sum but received no payment in respect of the claim.
Very large bank transfers
Seeking various orders against the two directors, Arthur Cunningham BL, instructed by Barry Cahir of Beauchamps solicitors for the liquidators, said his clients had sought information about payments made by the company.
Mr Cunningham said his clients did not receive any proper replies to their questions. It is claimed very large amounts of money were transferred out of the company's main trading account, to personal accounts controlled by one of the directors for which there was no proper explanation given.
These include payments of €1 million made to accounts in Mr Alexander's name, transfers of €285,000 made with a reference to Old Trafford, which is the residential address provided to the CRO by the respondents.
Further smaller transfers of between €8,000 to €7,000 were made from the company's account to the directors and Ms Hutu and to a Paddy Power Account, the court heard.
Many other payments into and out of the company's account were made and received from unknown parties and were not properly explained. Arising out of this the liquidators asked the court for orders under the 2014 Companies Act seeking to have the directors to be made personally liable for the firm's debts in the sum of €12.4 million.
There were no objections to the application. Neither Mr Alexander nor Mr Henry, both with an address at Old Trafford, Ballymadun, Ashbourne, Co Dublin, were present or represented in court.
Mr Cunningham told the court that the two directors are understood to have relocated to the UK and may have started up a new business.
The judge, in making the orders against Mr Henry and Mr Alexander, said she was satisfied that despite their non-attendance in court they had been made aware of the liquidators' applications and had been served with the relevant court documents.
Counsel said his clients will at a future date formally ask the court to make orders, including one requiring Ms Hutu to return the money the liquidators say were allegedly wrongly paid by the company to her.
Ms Hutu, counsel added, is believed to be in her native Romania.
