Confiscation Following Unlawful Re-Use Of Company Names

Background

It is a criminal offence to continue trading using the name of a company which has gone into insolvent liquidation (a prohibited name).

Judgment

The Court of Appeal has just ruled on a case relating to confiscation orders made against individuals who illegally trade under a prohibited name. In this case, the defendant was given community service, and ordered to pay a confiscation order of £100,000, plus costs. The individual appealed the confiscation order on various grounds.

The court concluded that:

a confiscation order can be made against an individual who is convicted for trading under a prohibited name / style; and the court is entitled to hold that the total turnover (not just the net profit) for the entire period of trading under that name is recoverable. Comment

Following this...