Travel agency boss banned from business following investigation
A travel agency director has been banned from running a business for seven years after an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
The probe found that Helen Jacobs, the director of Chatham-based ICharter, did not keep proper accounts and could not explain thousands of pounds worth of company payments.
The unexplained payments, worth close to £400,000, included £193,000 paid to Jacobs’ own account and more than £186,000 in debit card transactions.
Jacobs, aged 32, from Chatham, had set up the agency in November 2015.
It entered into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in March 2018 after it couldn’t pay debts of more than £127,000.
Insolvency Practitioners were appointed to wind-up the company and their report to the Insolvency Service triggered an investigation into Jacobs’ conduct.
The investigation established that from December 2015 she failed to maintain ICharter’s books and records.
She has been banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company for seven years.
Martin Gitner, deputy head of insolvent investigations at the Insolvency Service, said: "Helen Jacobs had a vast amount of experience in the travel industry and should have know that directors have a duty to maintain and preserve a record of financial transactions.
"This seven-year ban should reinforce to company directors the importance of maintaining accurate accounts."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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