The Insolvency Service has announced the winding-up of three Sunderland-based debt collection companies (at the Manchester High court)—EDC Group NE Ltd, UK EDC Ltd, and UK TCF Limited. The companies retained £54,847 in collected client funds without remitting them and made false claims regarding their experience to secure business. Investigations revealed that the companies operated interchangeably, with bank records indicating that the collected funds were diverted to the director, bookmakers, and other personal expenses. The Official Receiver has been appointed as the liquidator for all three companies.

The Insolvency Service has announced the winding up of four companies connected to the Atherton scheme which enabled directors to sell struggling businesses for £1 while keeping assets and dropping debts. The Insolvency Service identified over £18m in assets from 75 companies that were transferred to the wound-up entities as part of the scheme. Investigations found that the scheme enabled directors of financially distressed companies to transfer their businesses for a nominal sum, to entities linked to the scheme instead of entering formal insolvency. This allowed directors to evade liabilities, while company assets were retained or dissipated, leaving creditors unpaid. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of three of these companies.

The Insolvency Service has announced a confiscation order mandating a Yorkshire scaffolding company director to repay £115,000 in fraudulently obtained bounce back loans (BBL) plus interest. Mark Degnan, who previously received a two-year suspended sentence in January 2025, has been ordered to repay the remaining £59,578 within six months or face a 12-month prison term. The order follows his conviction for securing two £50,000 loans by falsely claiming his company had a £500,000 turnover, despite dormant accounts showing actual turnover of £162,000. Degnan has already repaid £55,608 and was previously disqualified as a company director for five years.

The Insolvency Service has announced that Vasile Hrusca was ordered to pay £190,577 at a confiscation hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 25 November 2025, following investigations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA 2002). Hrusca has three months to make the payment in full or face two-and-a-half years in prison, though he will remain liable for the full amount even if imprisoned. This order follows earlier criminal proceedings in January 2025, when Hrusca received an 18-month suspended sentence and a four-year director disqualification for fraudulently removing company assets. In his fraudulent actions, Hrusca appropriated over £67,000 from his failing construction company to settle hire purchase payments on an Audi RS6. He also sold plant machinery worth £84,829 and used the proceeds for gambling. The company, Vasile Hrusca Ltd, entered liquidation in September 2019.

The Insolvency Service has appointed its first crypto intelligence specialist to bolster digital asset recovery capabilities in bankruptcy and criminal cases. Former police investigator Andrew Small has joined the Investigation and Enforcement Services team at a time when cryptoasset cases have surged by 420% over the past five years. In the 2024–25 period, the Official Receiver Service identified £523,580 in cryptoassets across 59 insolvency cases, a dramatic increase compared to £1,436 found in 14 cases in 2019–20. This significant rise underscores the growing importance of digital assets in insolvency proceedings. Additionally, data from the Financial Conduct Authority reveals that seven million UK adults now hold some form of cryptoasset, up from 3.2 million in 2021. This expansion in cryptoasset ownership further highlights the necessity of strengthening digital recovery measures within the insolvency framework.

The Insolvency Service has disqualified Campbell Dickson from being a company director for four years, effective from 24 September 2025, following the liquidation of his third consecutive hotel business with unpaid VAT liabilities. Dickson's company, Caledonian Skye Ltd, entered liquidation in June 2023, having only paid £133,654 of the £574,238 in VAT due between May 2022 and May 2023. Two previous similarly-named companies under his directorship had also failed, with combined HMRC debts across all three businesses totalling £1.7m. The ban prevents involvement in company promotion, formation or management without court permission.

The Insolvency Service has imposed a 14-year ban on director Kenneth James Campbell, 52, from Glasgow, for swindling £2.8m from investors who believed they were investing in an oil and gas venture.

The Insolvency Service has disqualified Ruxanda Guja, a former decorator from Romford, for abusing the Covid Bounce Back Loan (BBL) scheme. Guja has been banned as company director for 13 years and ordered to pay £107,038 in compensation, accompanied by £7,592 in costs for fraudulently securing three BBL's to the value of £145,000 for her company, Roxy Contracts Limited; surpassing the scheme's £50,000 maximum threshold. The ban is effective from 24 December 2024 and prohibits Guja from participating in company management without court approval.

The Insolvency Service has announced that Adrian Nunn, aged 55, has been disqualified as a director for 11 years after falsely accounting over £2.3m to his company, The Upper Scale Limited, over six years until 2017. Nunn’s actions resulted in the business owing £940,000 in unpaid tax at the point of liquidation.

The Insolvency Service has banned Nazia Khan, a sales consultant based in Dubai, from serving as company director for nine years for fraudulently securing a £25,000 bounce back loan (BBL) for her inactive company, LC247 Limited, by falsely declaring a £100,000 turnover. Khan misappropriated the funds for personal use, contravening the scheme's regulations and the company went into liquidation in February 2022, with debts surpassing £28,000.

The Insolvency Service has banned Rupinder Kaur Thaker, a company director from Essex, from being involved in the management, promotion or formation of a company for seven years after she was unable to explain the legitimacy of the company’s financial affairs, particularly what she did with a £45,000 bounce back loan.

The Insolvency Service has issued a six-year ban to director, Shakar Habib, of Vista Training Solutions Limited, which provided training to students through apprenticeship schemes. Habib failed to keep adequate company accounts and could not explain £3.5m in company spending that included more than £2.5m of public funding.