Armagh directors disqualified

The acting directors of Armagh, Thomas and Bernadette Curran, have been disqualified, due to their current recycling business facing liquidation, exceeding £1 million in debt.

The sentence, according to the UK’s Department of Enterprise, for Thomas, 62, and Bernadette, 61, will span across six years, although a reduced sentence may be incurred, due to the couple taking part in a disqualification undertaking to the Department of Enterprise.

Both Thomas and Bernadette Curran played an active role in their business, Curran Environmental Recycling, which operated as a waste disposal, recycling and transport business in Portadown, which eventually started the liquidation process in 2005.

The problem came when rough figures became facts, with assets only worth £414,000 and liabilities at a massive £1,552,219, not to mention short changing, still owed to creditors at around £1,138,219.

The verdict took into consideration the increasing amount of misconduct the couple took part in throughout the businesses life span including:

• Continuing to although they knew it was effectively insolvent, and therefore, should not of been trading.
• Outstanding income tax and insurances and VAT for a period of several years.
• Misuse of a Northern Bank Account from June 2003 - May 2004 and an Ulster Bank from April 2004 - June 2005. The accounts in question we’re used in a payment processing transaction to pay off various creditors.
• Failure to prepare a proper profit and loss accounting for each financial year the company was in operation.