Sheffield director of umbrella company banned for VAT fraud
The boss of an umbrella company that failed to pay more than £2.5m in VAT has been banned as a director.
Hubert Omukhulu, 36, of Nethershire Lane, Sheffield, failed to accurately declare the amount of VAT his company Remedy Payroll Solutions had to pay in 2020 and 2021. The inaccurate returns the firm submitted suggested the company had no VAT to pay in 2020 and just over a quarter of a million pounds in 2021.
However, this was an under-declaration of more than £2m, according to calculations from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Consequently, Omukhulu has now been disqualified as a company director for eight years.
Kevin Read, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Hubert Omukhulu allowed his payroll supply company to substantially under-declare the amount of VAT it owed in 2020 and 2021.
“More than £2m in VAT was not paid by the company. This money should have gone towards funding vital public services such as the NHS, schools and our nation’s defence.
“Omukhulu’s conduct falls well below the standards the Insolvency Service expects, which is why he has been banned as a company director until 2033.”
Remedy Payroll Solutions was established in May 2020, with Omukhulu as its sole director. The company initially had its registered office as Omukhulu’s home address in Sheffield before switching it on several occasions between addresses in Romford and Hainault.
Remedy Payroll Solutions submitted three VAT returns in 2020 claiming it had no tax to pay in that year. The company submitted another three returns in 2021, claiming it had a combined £264,276 to pay in VAT.
HMRC investigated Remedy Payroll Solutions’ bank accounts and contacted its customers. Through their investigations, they calculated that £2,584,044 was owed by the company in VAT.
Remedy Payroll Solutions went into liquidation in July 2022.
Omukhulu claimed there was third-party involvement in the running of Remedy Payroll Solutions but failed to provide any evidence of this when asked by the Insolvency Service.
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