A former city trader who made huge losses while spread betting has been hit with a £2m-plus confiscation order for concealing assets during his bankruptcy
Tahseen Goni, from Luton, has been ordered to pay a confiscation order of £2,084,897 and prosecution costs of £118,352, following a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court.
Goni was convicted of concealing property from the official receiver in August 2015, following an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The investigation found that in October 2008 Goni, a previously successful spread betting ‘trader, incurred substantial losses and was left with a debit balance of £238,021 on his personal account with a company providing financial spread betting, contracts for difference (CFDs), stockbroking and foreign exchange services.
The company obtained judgment in default against Goni and threatened to petition for his bankruptcy. Goni was made bankrupt in July 2010 on a petition filed against him by IG Markets Ltd.
Goni then began to put in place arrangements to enable him to continue to trade in the lead up to and following his impending bankruptcy. This involved him making use of both trading accounts and bank accounts in the name of a family member.
The investigation found Goni had sufficient assets to pay off his creditors during the period of his bankruptcy. Despite his duty to declare them to his trustee in bankruptcy, he concealed them. This resulted in him being prosecuted and on being convicted, sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
At the subsequent confiscation hearing the court ordered that the benefit from his concealment of £2,084,897 should be confiscated of which £537,057 was to be paid to his creditor(s). A further £118,352 was ordered to be paid to cover prosecution costs.
BEIS deputy chief investigating officer Ian West said: ‘This is a substantial penalty and bankrupts should be in no doubt, that if they conceal assets from their trustee in bankruptcy that the Insolvency Service and BEIS will take firm action to have them prosecuted, their benefit confiscated and their creditor(s) recompensed.’
