Luton city trader fined £2m for hiding assets after going bankrupt

A former city trader has been hit with a £2m-plus confiscation order for concealing assets during his bankruptcy.
News from Lincoln Magistrates' Court. ANL-161025-141918001News from Lincoln Magistrates' Court. ANL-161025-141918001
News from Lincoln Magistrates' Court. ANL-161025-141918001

Tahseen Goni, 41, from Luton, has been ordered to pay a confiscation order of £2,084,897.37 and prosecution costs of £118,352.36, following a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on 28 July 2016.

Goni was convicted of concealing property from the Official Receiver in August 2015, following an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and Prosecution by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The Investigation found:

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In October 2008 Goni, a previously successful ‘spread betting’ trader, incurred substantial losses and was left with a debit balance of £238,021.30 on his personal account with a company providing financial spread betting, Contracts for Difference (CFDs), stockbroking and foreign exchange services.

The company obtained judgment in default against Goni and threatened to petition for his bankruptcy. Goni then began to put in place arrangements to enable him to continue to trade in the lead up to and following his impending bankruptcy. This involved him making use of both trading accounts and bank accounts in the name of a family member.

The investigation found Goni had sufficient assets to pay off his creditors during the period of his bankruptcy. Despite his duty to declare them to his trustee in bankruptcy, he concealed them. He was prosecuted and on being convicted, sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. At the subsequent confiscation hearing the court ordered that the benefit from his concealment of £2,084,897.37 should be confiscated of which £537,057.03 was to be paid to his creditors. A further £118,352.36 was ordered to be paid to cover prosecution costs.

Deputy Chief Investigating Officer Ian West from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills said: “This is a substantial penalty and bankrupts should be in no doubt, that if they conceal assets from their trustee in bankruptcy that the Insolvency Service and the department for Business, will take firm action to have them prosecuted, their benefit confiscated and their creditor(s) recompensed.”

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