Former XL Leisure boss facing £4m legal action
The former boss of collapsed operator XL Leisure is facing a £4m legal action over his involvement with Goldtrail, which went bust in 2010.
Legal papers have been served on Phil Wyatt, accusing him of "providing dishonest assistance" to Goldtrail owner, Abdulkadir Aydin.
The collapse of Goldtrail at the start of the peak summer season cost the Air Travel Trust Fund almost £25m and forced the CAA to repatriate 23,500 passengers and refund more than 75,000 with forward bookings.
Wyatt is accused of advising Aydin, together with two associates from his investment vehicle Black Pearl, on the removal of funds from Goldtrail and the transfer of deposits to an offshore account in the Seychelles five months before the company was placed in administration.
Of the total £4m being sought by Goldtrail’s liquidators, the claim against Mr Wyatt and his associates is £1.4m. It is also thought another Turkish airline is being pursued.
Goldtrail’s liquidators PwC, led by administrator Ian Oakley-Smith, have served Wyatt with an order to appear in court and it is waiting for his response.
Aydin is accused of "breaching his fiduciary duty and making unlawful dividend payments", but PwC has been unable so far to serve court papers on Aydin, who is a Turkish national.
Wyatt has also been linked to other failed ventures, including Viking Airlines AB which suspended services from the UK in October 2010, and Tor Air, which collapsed last December.
PwC and Mr Wyatt declined to comment.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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