Rogue developers banned for ripping-off investors

Grant Prior 7 years ago
Share

Six directors have been banned for a total of 54 years after they misled more than 300 people to invest £12m into residential property developments in the north of England.

Four of the directors are based in Malaysia while the remaining two live in The Wirral and Kilburn, North-West London.

The Insolvency Service investigation centred on property firm Absolute Living Developments Limited.

The company sold apartments off-plan to investors who were largely based in Asia.

It is estimated that Absolute Living Developments secured at least £12m from people to invest in residential property schemes that were in various states of development.

Daniel Mark Harrison (38), from Kilburn North-West London, was the last of the directors to be disqualified and he was banned for six years through a court order on 28 November 2018.

During Harrison’s hearings, the court heard that Absolute Living Developments Limited was incorporated in November 2013, with registered offices in Liverpool.

The company sought out investments to convert commercial buildings into residential properties.

The developments were located predominately in Bradford and Greater Manchester.

People complained that having invested through Absolute Living Developments, the schemes had not been fully completed and the apartments were unliveable.

Absolute Living Developments was wound-up by order of the courts in April 2016 following the presentation of a petition by Bradford Council due to unpaid rates and investigations that followed principally focused on four developments – three in Bradford and one in Manchester.

Investigators discovered various examples of misconduct by Absolute Living Developments facilitated by the directors.

The company provided misleading and incomplete information about the developments to investors, meaning people couldn’t carry out due diligence.

Absolute Living Developments had no ability to ensure the terms of contracts with investors could be met and failed to provide adequate safeguards for money obtained from investors.

For one of the developments, Absolute Living Developments requested completion payments from investors despite the development not being completed.

And the company signed charges over Absolute Living Developments’ assets, which meant that a third party owns them and there are no remaining assets in the liquidation to pay creditors.

An independent insolvency practitioner has been appointed in this case to investigate recovery of assets for the benefit of creditors.

The liquidator’s actions are ongoing and to date they have received claims from creditors in excess of £68 million.

Ken Beasley, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service said: “This was a complex investigation, considering the amount of money that was invested, not all of the directors were based in the UK and we worked with several other authorities.

“We want to draw attention to these rogue directors so we can alert people about the risks involved when investing, while also warning that we will investigate and tackle those that set out to deliberately rip people off by misrepresenting the investment opportunity on offer.”

Disqualified directors

Kien Cheong Yew (40) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Disqualified from 29 January 2018 to 28 January 2030 (12 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Ameerali Bin Abas (39) from Selangor, Malaysia. Disqualified from 27 June 2018 to 26 June 2027 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Andrea Nicole Pacquiao Pieter (30) from Selangor, Malaysia. Disqualified from 20 March 2018 to 19 March 2027 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Adrianne Mei Kwan Nyau (40) from The Wirral. Disqualified from 14 December 2017 to 13 December 2026 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Chi Yeun Leong (68) from Bangsar, Malaysia. Disqualified from 21 December 2017 to 20 December 2026 (9 years) as a result of an undertaking.

Daniel Mark Harrison (38) from Kilburn North-West London. Disqualified from 28 November 2018 to 27 November 2024 (6 years) as a result of a court order.

Latest news

Conlon Chairman to retire after 38 years

Michael Conlon to hand over reigns to Guy Parker at Employee Owned Company
58 minutes ago

HS2 first as giant bridge slid across live motorway

Watch timelapse footage of pioneering 4,600-tonne viaduct installation
4 hours ago

Gilbert Ash breaks ground on £120m Wilde aparthotel

Staycity’s biggest London scheme gets underway in Shoreditch
4 hours ago

Bennett wins brace of retirement home deals

Contractor to build more than 200 apartments for investor Octopus Capital
5 hours ago

Developer showed “total disregard” for site safety

Property firm fined £45,000 for failing to meet basic standards
5 hours ago

Watkin Jones takes £8.7m hit but eyes brighter 2026

A £2bn pipeline and stronger deal flow help rebuild confidence after a year of impairments
5 hours ago

Project manager caught running false invoice scam

Suspended sentence and ban for director after probe into offices to resi scheme
23 hours ago

Cardo nails £52m Sussex council homes roofing deal

Firm beats 14 rivals to take Lewes and Eastbourne roofing programmes
1 day ago

Bachy turnover sinks by over £100m as HS2 surge fades

Piling specialist reports slow year as mega projects step down
1 day ago

Van Elle finds buyer for loss-making Canadian arm

Two-year North America foray ends with £2.6m exit deal
1 day ago

£100m student halls to replace derelict London Crown Court

IQ student project gets go-ahead at Blackfriars court building site
1 day ago

Safety green light for Newcastle student scheme

Gateway 2 approval process delays construction start by a year
1 day ago

Plans go in for next phase of Manchester Waters

New neighbourhood planned for island site
1 day ago

JRL names new fit-out lead to drive expansion

Graham Ardley steps up to drive next phase of commercial and residential growth
1 day ago

Construction output yo-yos as growth falters again

Quarterly output down 0.3% amid cautious investor sentiment
4 days ago

Free school build plans axed to fund £3bn SEND expansion

Education secretary scraps 28 free schools to plug SEND shortfall
4 days ago

McLaren seals £160m funding for Manchester student tower

737-bed Upper Brook Street student scheme forward funded by L&G
4 days ago

Former McAlpine boss lined up for Royal BAM board role

Paul Hamer to replace Paul Sheffield on Dutch group supervisory board
5 days ago

Plans go in for £650m retail park to resi scheme

Construction could start in early 2027 on new neighbourhood for Lewisham
5 days ago

Lovell launches Midlands refurb division

Renew Central to be headed by Carl Yale
4 days ago

M Group muscles into top five contractors after growth spurt

Private-equity backed infra giant builds £8.8bn work mountain
5 days ago

Plans in for first major build phase of £2bn York Central scheme

Developers table plans for nearly 1,000 homes, parkland and York’s new western station gateway
5 days ago

Lords push for staged Gateway 2 approval to aid design and build

Inquiry warns BSR’s over-detailed Gateway 2 demands are freezing D&B process
6 days ago

CITB wage bill tops £52m as staff numbers jump 13%

Accounts show 182 people at training body earn £60,000+ a year
5 days ago

Peterborough electrical specialist files administration notice

EML Electrical Contractors lodges court notice
5 days ago

Ant Yapi UK lands latest Chelsea Barracks deal

Fit-out work on Building 7 will last until summer 2027
5 days ago

Go-ahead for plan to level Cambridge retail park for life-science hub

Minister overturns council refusal as Railpen’s scheme promises £600m economic uplift
6 days ago

Subcontractor competition keeps build costs flat at Berkeley

"Highly competitive tendering" expected to continue next year
6 days ago

Industry calls grow to scrap the CITB

Latest training cuts final straw for a lot of contractors
7 days ago

Green light for major Oxford Circus mixed use scheme

Construction to start in 2029 on revamp of BHS and London College of Fashion site
6 days ago