Insolvency Service reprimands regulator body for the first time
The Insolvency Service has today issued a reprimand – the first time such powers have been used – against the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for regulatory failings.
The Insolvency Service, which has oversight of the bodies responsible for regulation of Insolvency Practitioners in the UK, has today issued a reprimand for the first time against the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
ICAEW is one of the four Recognised Professional Bodies which regulates licenced Insolvency Practitioners in Great Britain. The reprimand relates to failures by ICAEW after restrictions were imposed on Adrian Duncan, an Insolvency Practitioner based in London.
Duncan was prohibited from taking on any new insolvency appointments, but ICAEW was found to have failed to monitor whether Duncan was adhering to these restrictions, nor did it take steps to ensure that any estate funds Duncan was managing were subject to the appropriate financial controls. It is understood that Duncan has absconded having misappropriated nearly £4 million in estate funds.
Claire Hardgrave, Head of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation Section at the Insolvency Service, said:
We take the integrity of the insolvency regime and regulation of Insolvency Practitioners extremely seriously.
While the vast majority of licensed Insolvency Practitioners work to a high standard, where failings are identified and there is wrongdoing we will not hesitate to act.
The public needs to have confidence in the regulatory regime, and it is important for lessons to be taken from this case.
The reprimand was delivered in accordance with Sections 391J and 391K of the Insolvency Act 1986, after the Insolvency Service identified the failings by ICAEW.
Background information
The reprimand relates to two specific omissions:
- Between 27 January 2021 and 7 September 2021, ICAEW failed to conduct searches of the London Gazette, or to make equivalent enquiries, to establish if Adrian Duncan was complying with the licence restriction imposed upon him on 3 September 2020 which prohibited him from taking on any new insolvency appointments.
- Between 12 August 2020 and 7 September 2021, ICAEW failed to take steps to ensure that estate funds for which Adrian Duncan was responsible were subject to appropriate financial controls.
If any clients of Adrian Duncan believe they did not receive the service they should have done, they should contact the Administrators of Savants Covenant Advisory Limited and Savants Restructuring Limited, Kelly Mitchell and Carl Jackson of Quantuma for further details of any possible recoveries within the Administrations. The Administrators can be contacted via: savants@quantuma.com.
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