Scaffolder from Berkshire has been disqualified by the courts for 6 years after failing to pay close to £210,000 of tax
On 18 October 2022, Vincent Christopher Larkin (51), from Bracknell, Berkshire, received a 6-year disqualification order in the High Court of Justice before Insolvency & Companies Court Judge Jones.
During proceedings the court heard that Vincent Larkin was the director of a scaffolding company called V Larkin Limited. Trading as Olympic Scaffolding, the scaffolders was incorporated in February 2006.
The scaffolding firm, however, went into liquidation in May 2019 and V Larkin Limited’s insolvency triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Investigators uncovered that Vincent Larkin caused the scaffolders to trade to the detriment of the tax authorities when V Larkin Limited failed to pay £209,000 worth of business and employee-related tax from the tax year ending 2016/2017.
Further enquiries revealed that between April 2017 and right up to the point the company was heading into liquidation in May 2019, Vincent Larkin caused the scaffolders to make payments totalling close to £489,000 but no payments were identified as having been made to the tax authorities.
Vincent Larkin did not attend court and in his absence was disqualified and ordered to pay costs of £7,355.80.
Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Company Investigations at the Insolvency Service, said:
Notes to Editors
Vincent Christopher Larkin’s date of birth is October 1971.
V Larkin Limited (Company Reg no. 05703531).
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.
Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.