Jailed restaurateur served with ban after £1m tax fraud
A jailed restaurateur has been banned from running companies for 12 years after he was found to owe HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) more than £1m.
Lam Chin Seong from Barnet, London, was the sole director of Novari and Novari (at the O2). Incorporated in 2012, the two companies traded as the Water Margin Chinese restaurant in Portsmouth, as well as the Water Margin Chinese restaurant and Water Margin Jazz Club in London's Greenwich.
Each company had an annual turnover in excess of £1m. Lam Chin Seong, however, registered the companies falsely with HMRC, describing them as arts-based businesses with estimated annual turnovers of £10,000 and £80,000, which were significant under-valuations.
Lam Chin Seong caused the companies to pay the smaller assessments rather than correcting the error, which meant more than £1m in tax went unpaid over four and a half years.
In July 2016, an HMRC investigation uncovered the fraud, and the restaurants ceased to trade soon after. Lam Chin Seong put both companies into liquidation in winter 2016 and autumn 2017, respectively.
In November 2018, Lam Chin Seong pleaded guilty to two counts of being knowingly concerned in fraudulent evasion of VAT. He was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018.
HMRC then worked with the Insolvency Service to secure Lam Chin Seong's disqualification as a director in addition to his custodial sentence.
In June 2019, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Lam Chin Seong for 12 years. Effective from 3 July 2019, he is banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
David Brooks, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: "Lam Chin Seong demonstrated a wilful disregard for the tax authorities and a 12-year ban prevents him from using limited liability to carry on his business practice in such a way.
"This case illustrates the excellent day-to-day relationship the Insolvency Service has with HMRC, and we will continue to work with our partners to prevent misconduct."
Disqualified boss handed second ban for illegally running restaurant >>
