The Insolvency Service has announced the disqualifiction of Shkelzen Gashi, director of Smart Tyres Services Ltd, from acting as a company director for ten years after he overstated company turnover by almost double, to obtain a £50,000 bounce back loan (BBL). The ban was ordered after investigations revealed Gashi declared a £250,000 turnover when actual figures showed £134,401. The company was instead entitled to £33,600 under the scheme. Gashi was ordered to pay costs of £5,333 and has repaid £8,000 of the loan. Smart Tyres ceased trading in August 2022 with liabilities exceeding £100,000.

The Insolvency Service has announced that Bradford restaurateur Shohid Ahmed has been sentenced to two years' imprisonment after fraudulently obtaining £100,000 in bounce back loans (BBL). Ahmed made three applications using his wife's name, with two being successful. He falsely claimed that an innocent tenant of his father's property was the company director, fabricated a £15,000 renovation invoice from a non-existent design firm, and misrepresented himself as a waiter earning a salary of £12,000. Ahmed pleaded guilty to offences under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) and Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). He has repaid £5,000 to date, with the Insolvency Service pursuing recovery of remaining funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002). Ahmed was previously disqualified as a company director for 11 years in December 2021.

The Insolvency Service has announced that the rollout of its new internal case management system, INSSight, will begin in late October 2025 and continue into early November 2025. The system will support Official Receiver Services and Estate Accounts, including banking functions, and will operate alongside the existing ISCIS Online system, which will remain available during the transition. During the rollout, users may experience processing delays for cheque or BACS payment requests, the allocation of receipts to the Insolvency Service Account (ISA) and bulk case transfers. Access to the Individual Insolvency Register (IIR) will remain available throughout, although there will be a temporary suspension of new Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) registrations and bankruptcy orders. Debt Relief Orders will be unaffected, and the Director Conduct Reporting System will remain available. However, access to information for creditor nominations for routine Insolvency Practitioner appointments and for case handovers following appointments will be limited during the transition. From 3 November 2025, Insolvency Practitioners will be required to use new templates for unclaimed receipts, cheque and BACS payment requisitions, IVA registrations and bulk transfers.

The Insolvency Service has announced the Official Receiver published updated guidance regarding motor vehicle finance redress in response to recent media coverage and a Supreme Court judgment. The guidance outlines a pilot programme, operated in conjunction with Managed Finance Solutions Ltd (MFS), designed to identify redress owed to creditors in bankruptcy estates for cases where insolvency court orders were issued between 6 April 2007 and 28 January 2021.

The Insolvency Service has announced that the High Court has wound up Medrecruiter Limited in the public interest following an investigation which found that the company obtained more than £19,000 from 23 overseas workers by charging upfront fees for care recruitment and visa sponsorship services it was not authorised to provide. The investigation found that the company operated from a virtual office, did not hold a Home Office sponsor licence and had not submitted any visa applications or secured employment for any workers, despite claiming to have nearly 6000 carers on its books and to operate in more than 500 UK care homes. Workers from Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines paid consultation fees of up to £1,199, together with additional charges for training, uniforms and processing, before being misled about the progress of their applications and refused refunds. The Insolvency Service also found that the company failed to file its accounts and confirmation statement with Companies House, and that neither the company nor its directors co-operated with the investigation.

The Insolvency Service has successfully petitioned the High Court in Manchester to wind up three linked kitchen design and fitting companies for fraudulent practices. Smart Choice Kitchens Limited, Empire Kitchens and Bathrooms Limited, and Connect Kitchens Limited were found to have taken upfront payments from over 20 customers (exceeding £50,000 collectively) without providing the promised products.

The Insolvency Service has announced the winding up of UK Sinosia Business Limited and Longshine Overseas Limited, following referrals from Companies House. The two companies collectively registered more than 4,300 UK company addresses for predominantly China-based clients without valid HMRC trust or company service provider registrations and with no evidence of anti-money laundering checks having been carried out. Client fees were directed to personal or third-party bank accounts in China. These actions were taken under powers conferred by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) and the Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator for both companies.

The Insolvency Service has announced the winding up of Key Coin Assets Ltd, following an investigation that found no evidence of genuine trading activity. Nine investors who reported to Action Fraud paid more than £300,000 to the company, which had promised guaranteed returns of 40–100%. The scheme operated on a Ponzi-style basis, with new investor funds used to pay earlier investors and monies transferred to the director's personal account. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator. The Insolvency Service and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have jointly issued a warning urging investors to verify firm registration via the FCA's Firm Checker prior to investing in cryptoassets, noting that cryptoasset activities will become regulated from 25 October 2027.

The Insolvency Service has announced that the High Court in London has wound up Cask Spirits Global Limited following an investigation into its sale of whisky cask investments. The investigation identified 17 customers who paid a total of £97,249 but found that only four had valid documentation confirming ownership of their casks. Some customers Some customers received certificates relating to casks that did not exist, while others had casks registered in the company’s name or were given incorrect information about where their casks were stored. The company also traded as ‘Cask Spirits Ltd’, despite no company of that name being registered at Companies House and had no verified presence at the two London addresses listed in its materials.  It also failed to provide 27 of the 29 accounting documents requested by investigators.

The Insolvency Service has announced that Classic Parade Ltd has been wound up, following an investigation into the company’s trading practices. Classic Parade Ltd accepted upfront payments for supercar hire bookings that were later cancelled without refund. The investigation identified at least 48 complaints reported to Action Fraud, with alleged losses totalling £220,675. Additionally, 12 County Court Judgements, amounting to £66,225, were registered against the company between September 2023 and October 2024. Over £1.4 million passed through the company’s bank accounts, including a payment of £166,893 made directly to the director. The director did not attend an interview with the Insolvency Service nor provide any explanation for these transactions. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of the company.

The Insolvency Service has announced a High Court winding up order against Renugen Limited, a Kent-based renewable energy products retailer, following an investigation. The order was issued after investigators identified £74,570 in undelivered orders affecting 34 customers, with only £15,265 refunded. The investigation revealed the company had continued trading while reporting no activity between 2021-2023, conducted £48,000 in unexplained cryptocurrency transactions (unrelated to renewable energy products), and had six business bank accounts, of which two had been closed due to scam complaints. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of the company.

The Insolvency Service announced that Trident West Industries Ltd was wound up at the High Court in London on 28 October 2025, six months after its affiliated company, Star Solar Ltd, entered voluntary liquidation in April 2025. Both companies were led by director Terry Smith and collectively received over £3.1m in customer payments between May 2023–January 2025. Despite handling numerous complaints and County Court judgments totaling more than £400,000, only £7,010 was returned to nine complainants. The companies targeted customers who had previously installed solar panels by selling solar system parts and maintenance plans through cold calls and doorstep visits. They falsely promised government grant refunds that were never delivered.