A former investment firm director has been handed stringent bankruptcy restrictions extended to the maximum of 15 years “to prevent him causing further harm to the public”, the UK’s Insolvency Service said in a statement on 12 August.
Derby-based Andrew Paul Bird defrauded 13 different parties in an investment scam between 2011 and 2016.
The Official Receiver discovered he had knowingly misled investors and exposed them to the risk of losing money for his personal gain, the statement said.
Robin Dury, official receiver at the Insolvency Service, said: “Andrew Bird purposely deceived people who trusted him into handing over money for what they believed to be secure investments.
“We are pleased that these lengthy Bankruptcy Restrictions will prevent him causing further harm to people, by curtailing his business activities for a long time.”
Bankruptcy Restrictions prevent Bird acting as a company director without the court’s permission, or borrowing more than £500 without declaring that he is subject to the restrictions. They also prevent him taking up certain roles in public organisations.
Bird was first made bankrupt in November 2016, and later became subject to a five-year interim Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (BRO), which was imposed by the courts in January 2018 to prevent him causing further harm while he awaited a criminal trial for his fraudulent actions.
The interim order was made on application by the Official Receiver, following an investigation into Bird’s affairs as a bankrupt. The investment scheme purported to use money from investors to trade on a trading platform and return a profit on their investments.
But between 1 January 2011 and 31 August 2016 Bird knowingly gave false information to investors, for his own personal gain. Bird received an eight-year jail sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on 1 August 2024.
The Official Receiver secured a signed undertaking by Bird, in which he agreed to be bound by the bankruptcy restrictions until 24 January 2033 – extending them for a full 15 years, from the date of the interim order in January 2018. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted the undertaking on 15 July 2024.
Bird did not dispute that he had acted dishonestly by misleading 13 different parties – including both individuals and couples – to invest in a scheme which exposed them to potential losses. His actions were a breach of the Fraud Act 2006.
