Disclose or not to disclose…

Mr Andrew Barker won £35k on the show in April 2012 but failed to disclose this to the Official Receiver and his creditors. Under section 353 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended) un-discharged bankrupts are required to disclose all property comprised in his/her estate to the Official Receiver or Trustee. The winnings were considered to be after acquired property under section 307 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended) accordingly Mr Barker should have disclosed this to his Trustee.

The conviction followed an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

A spokesman from BIS expressed his surprise that Mr Barker thought he might get away with it considering he had appeared publicly on a television quiz show and was seen by the people affected by his actions. Mr Barker owed his creditors £61k and his winnings would have gone some way to his creditors seeing a return from his bankruptcy.

Instead after receiving his winnings from the show on 2 May 2012, Mr Barker withdrew the funds and embarked on a spending spree. He was recently sentenced to 13 weeks imprisonment after his appeal was dismissed (unsurprisingly), and ordered to pay £3,418.36 in prosecution costs. The above goes to show that when in doubt, disclose.