Marian Daniel Clipici, aged 35, has been disqualified as a director for seven years after failing to keep adequate accounts while his business was trading.
Mr Clipici, a Romanian national, was the sole director of Dahlial Limited, which operated a construction business from November 2017 according to documents filed at Companies House. However, its trading address was also home to Dahlia Restaurant, a Romanian restaurant in Southampton, which recently closed. In addition, until July 2021 he was also a director of Dani-Deea Ltd, which operates a Romanian food shop in Southampton.
The company ceased trading in September 2021 and went into liquidation. The liquidator identified a number of concerns, triggering a subsequent investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Investigators found that Mr Clipici was unable to account for more than £530,000 paid into the business bank account between June 2019 and the point of liquidation, including a £40,000 Bounce Back Loan paid to the company in May 2020.
The accounts also showed a similar amount paid out over the same period, bringing the total value of transactions to over £1 million, none of which could be demonstrated to have been for legitimate company payments due to a lack of accounting records and documentation.
Businesses were only eligible for support through the Bounce Back Loan scheme if the money was to be used to benefit the business. Mr Clipici, however, was unable to prove that the Bounce Back Loan was either validly obtained or used to support his business during the COVID pandemic.
The Bounce Back Loan was paid into the company’s bank account in May 2020 and over the next four months, Mr Clipici withdrew £30,000. He claimed the payments were for subcontractors and business expenses, but was unable to demonstrate to investigators that these transactions were legitimate company payments.
Mr Clipici made a claim of £12,600 in the liquidation of the company, but due to his inadequate company records, the liquidator was unable to establish whether this was a valid claim.
The liquidators found that the company owed £60,396, including the £40,000 Bounce Back Loan owed to the bank and more than £7,000 to the tax authorities.
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr Clipici after he did not dispute he had failed to ensure that Dahlial Limited had kept adequate books and accounting records, or had failed to provide the liquidator with such records that had been kept.
His disqualification is effective for seven years and begins on 20 September 2022. The disqualification undertaking prevents Mr Clipici from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
