Bankruptcy offences

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Bankruptcy is an insolvency process for individuals, which commences on the day the bankruptcy order is made.

For information on bankruptcy proceedings generally, see:

  1. •

    Bankruptcy—overview

  2. •

    Personal insolvency for dispute resolution practitioners: bankruptcy

  3. •

    Bankruptcy petitions—process and procedure post-presentation of the petition

Many of the criminal offences created by IA 1986 relate to the failure of a bankrupt person to perform their duties under IA 1986.

Bankruptcy offences

The bankruptcy offences are found in the IA 1986, Pt IX, Chapter VI.

All the offences are triable either-way so can be tried in the magistrates' court or in the Crown Court and, proceedings in each case can only be instituted by the Secretary of State or by, or with the consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The maximum penalty for each bankruptcy offence is set out in the IA 1986, Sch 10.

There is little guidance on sentencing those convicted of a bankruptcy offence. However, the Court of Appeal has said that those who conceal assets and use them to pay personal debts could expect to receive a custodial sentence,

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