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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Company director 'faked his own death' to avoid disqualification | Company director 'faked his own death' to avoid disqualification |
| (4 months later) | |
| ‘Friend’ of Bradley Silver, disqualified from acting as director over sham company, tells Insolvency Service that he took his own life | |
| Nicola Slawson | |
| Tue 17 Oct 2017 23.13 BST | |
| Last modified on Tue 17 Oct 2017 23.39 BST | |
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| A director faked his own death in an effort to avoid disqualification from running companies, the Insolvency Service has said. | A director faked his own death in an effort to avoid disqualification from running companies, the Insolvency Service has said. |
| Bradley Trevor Silver, also known as Bradley Silva, is still being sought by the government agency after its lawyers were told he had taken his own life. | Bradley Trevor Silver, also known as Bradley Silva, is still being sought by the government agency after its lawyers were told he had taken his own life. |
| The 49-year-old was disqualified from acting as a director for 14 years, beginning 2 November. He was the sole director of 24/7 London, a sham company that was wound up in the public interest by the Insolvency Service in September 2016. | The 49-year-old was disqualified from acting as a director for 14 years, beginning 2 November. He was the sole director of 24/7 London, a sham company that was wound up in the public interest by the Insolvency Service in September 2016. |
| The company allegedly used forged documents saying falsely that it had worked on contracts for TV shows including Big Brother, Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and The Only Way is Essex. | The company allegedly used forged documents saying falsely that it had worked on contracts for TV shows including Big Brother, Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and The Only Way is Essex. |
| Last week Silver was disqualified from acting as a company director for 14 years for dishonest attempts to obtain credit on the back of fictional accounts, and for using forged documents and invoices. | Last week Silver was disqualified from acting as a company director for 14 years for dishonest attempts to obtain credit on the back of fictional accounts, and for using forged documents and invoices. |
| Investigators also found Silver had filed false accounts for his company, claiming a turnover of £4.7bn and assets of £2.4bn, said to have been audited by Deloitte. | Investigators also found Silver had filed false accounts for his company, claiming a turnover of £4.7bn and assets of £2.4bn, said to have been audited by Deloitte. |
| They found that Deloitte had not audited the accounts, which contained basic errors including presenting numbers in billions instead of thousands. | They found that Deloitte had not audited the accounts, which contained basic errors including presenting numbers in billions instead of thousands. |
| In the days prior to the disqualification hearing, a “friend” of the director, calling himself Adam Solomans, contacted lawyers to say Silver had killed himself. | In the days prior to the disqualification hearing, a “friend” of the director, calling himself Adam Solomans, contacted lawyers to say Silver had killed himself. |
| Suspicions were raised as the friend appeared to share a mobile phone number with Silver and soon stopped responding to emails. Solomans’ name and signature both featured on a cheque paid into 24/7 London’s bank account which had bounced. | Suspicions were raised as the friend appeared to share a mobile phone number with Silver and soon stopped responding to emails. Solomans’ name and signature both featured on a cheque paid into 24/7 London’s bank account which had bounced. |
| In her judgment, registrar Christine Derrett said she did not accept that Silver had died, adding that, in all probability, he and Solomans were one and the same. | In her judgment, registrar Christine Derrett said she did not accept that Silver had died, adding that, in all probability, he and Solomans were one and the same. |
| Insolvency Service chief investigator Cheryl Lambert said it was “one of the most bizarre cases” she had ever come across. | Insolvency Service chief investigator Cheryl Lambert said it was “one of the most bizarre cases” she had ever come across. |
| She said: “That Mr Silver appears to have tried to fake his own death through suicide in order to avoid disqualification is disgraceful. | She said: “That Mr Silver appears to have tried to fake his own death through suicide in order to avoid disqualification is disgraceful. |
| “Directors should be aware that the Insolvency Service will not shy away from confronting dishonesty and removing these people from the marketplace.” | “Directors should be aware that the Insolvency Service will not shy away from confronting dishonesty and removing these people from the marketplace.” |
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