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Helim Miah was made bankrupt in 2006, owing millions to his creditors.
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Despite a bankruptcy order and a 13-year director disqualification, he formed two companies and bought a car on finance.
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He was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
A Welsh businessman, made bankrupt nearly 20 years ago, has been jailed for more than four years after hiding £130,000 in assets, continuing to operate as a company director and obtaining more than £100,000 in credit.
Helim Miah ran Fresh ‘N’ Clean (Wales) Ltd until 2006, when he was made bankrupt owing £12.3 million to his creditors and was disqualified as a director for 13 years.
The 46-year-old signed declarations stating that he had no property, assets or cash and that he understood the restrictions of being subject to a bankruptcy order.
But Miah, from Cardiff, failed to cooperate with the Insolvency Service which meant he could not be discharged from his bankruptcy in 2007 or released from his debts.
As such, he was prevented from forming new companies or obtaining credit.
In 2016, it was discovered that he had used £130,000 – transferred from the accounts of a new company he was the sole shareholder of – to co-own a house in Cardiff with family members, which he had not disclosed to the Official Receiver.
Further investigations found that he had received more than £100,000 in credit from banks from 2017, using a £23,000 finance loan to buy an Audi A4 and obtain an overdraft of £78,000. He was also involved in the formation of three companies one of which he was sole director of.
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator Mark Stephens said:
This has been a complex case in which Helim Miah tried to evade the law for years, thinking the rules of bankruptcy did not apply to him.
This was all preventable. Had Miah complied with the Insolvency Service and the courts, he would have likely been discharged from the bankruptcy order in 2007.
Instead, he found himself guilty of multiple serious crimes for which he has received a substantial prison sentence.
The court heard how, in 2016, it came to light that in 2009 Miah received £130,000 from Universal Services (Wales) Ltd which was used to fund co-ownership of a house in Cardiff.
Miah stated that he had not declared the money as it was a family asset and came from monies owed for equipment he had supplied to the company.
Miah had been involved with the formation of two companies while bankrupt and disqualified as a director: Principality Corporation Limited, which he was sole director of from 2012, and as sole shareholder of Universal Foods (Wholesale) Limited from 2014.
Between February 2016 and October 2020, Miah had obtained two credit cards, a loan of £3,000 and an overdraft of £3,093 which was utilised to obtain a cumulative amount of approximately £76,130. During this period, he made payments to reduce the account balance. As such, he was charged with four counts of obtaining credit while bankrupt.
Helim Miah pleaded guilty to one count of failing to disclose property contrary to the Insolvency Service Act 1986, two counts of being concerned with or taking part in the formation of a company whilst disqualified and five counts of obtaining credit while bankrupt.
As well as his jail sentence, Miah was also handed a 10 year director disqualification.
A linked investigation by Cardiff and the Vale Shared Regulatory Services into Universal Foods (Wholesale) Limited, also found that Miah and another defendant had sold halal-labelled chicken to takeaways and restaurants across South Wales. However, investigations revealed that their suppliers often did not provide halal meat.
