In addition, the Insolvency Service also discovered that Douglas Haigh, director of DAH Healthcare Ltd (DAH), had failed to make payments to HMRC for PAYE, with the result the company owed £338,298 for the tax years 2010/11 onwards.

DAH, which traded as The Old Rectory care home in Langton Maltravers, Swanage, went into administration in October 2013, owing £3.6m to creditors which included £956,213 of unsecured creditors.

The total amount owed to HMRC in the administration, including unpaid CVA debts, interest and penalties, was £874,223.

The Insolvency Service found that Haigh had failed to ensure that DAH filed accurate accounts for the period ended 6 July 2010, or any accounts for subsequent periods.

As a result, it was not possible to determine what non-business related payments of £53,516 were for, or to verify that cheque payments totalling £32,324 were made for the benefit of the company
In addition, investigators could not identify the recipients of bulk payments totalling £802,532 or verify that credit card payments totalling £162,896 were made for the benefit of the company.

Nor could they determine what cash withdrawals of at least £41,122 were used for, or ascertain how much Haigh owes to the company in relation to his loan account. It was also not possible to determine the cause of failure of the company.

Haigh was the company’s only director from 2007 until it went into administration in 2013.

Sue MacLeod, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service said: ‘Directors have a duty to ensure that their companies maintain and preserve proper accounting records, and Mr Haigh failed in this regard.

‘Mr Haigh also failed to comply with his responsibility to submit returns and payments to HMRC. The Insolvency Service will take action against directors who do not take their obligations seriously and abuse their position of trust.’