An investigation brought by the Insolvency Service has led to a second and longer disqualification for a director of a Leeds-based recruitment agency for breaching an original disqualification.

A statement from the Insolvency Service, released today, reveals that Glen Dean Crosthwaite continued to act as a director of haulage and securities staffing specialist UK Recruitment Staff, despite resigning and appointing Darren Reece Ashford as director. Reece Ashford has also been disqualified.

The disqualifications mean Crosthwaite and Ashford cannot be a director of a company or be involved in the management of a company in any way for 11 and five years respectively.

The disqualifications follow an investigation that found despite resigning as a director of the recruitment agency on 1 December 2012, Crosthwaite continued to act as a director in controlling the affairs of the company, including being the sole person in charge of the company bank account and dealing with HM Revenue & Customs. 

Reece Ashford was appointed a director of UK Recruitment Staff on 15 May 2012 following Crosthwaite’s resignation but allowed Crosthwaite to continue to run the business.

Crosthwaite had previously given an undertaking to the secretary of state in the case of Leeds-based recruitment firm Network Securities UK for making payments to himself and associated businesses of over £370k at a time when payments were not being made to creditors, principally HMRC. Crosthwaite’s disqualification was effective from 30 November 2012 to 29 November 2018.

Both Crosthwaite and Ashford were found to have allowed UK Recruitment Staff to trade to the detriment of HMRC, as during the 13 months of the company’s trading no payments were made to HMRC in respect of PAYE taxation and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). 

At the date of the firm’s liquidation (13 April 2013), HMRC was owed a total of more than £100k in respect of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and NICs, while the directors and their associates received more than £107k.

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