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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Tamlyn Jones

11-year boardroom ban for former Carillion finance chief

The former finance chief of failed outsourcing and construction giant Carillion has been banned from being a director for 11 years.

Zafar Khan served as Wolverhampton-based Carillion's finance director but left the company four months before its collapse in January 2018 with debts of £7 billion.

Its demise left a string of projects in its wake including the Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Sandwell which is still yet to open while thousands of people lost their jobs.

The ban for Mr Khan, who only served in the role for eight months, is the first against any former Carillion executive imposed under the Company Director Disqualification Act.

The Insolvency Service said Mr Khan caused Carillion to rely on "false and misleading financial information" for the preparation of annual accounts for 2016 and did not comply with accounting standards.

It said these resulted in the material misstatement of profits in relation to the performance of five major construction contracts including the new hospital in Smethwick, Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Battersea Power Station.

The Insolvency Service also said Mr Khan caused Carillion to make market announcements in March and May 2017 which were misleading as to the reality of the listed firm's financial performance, position and prospects.

Mr Khan also caused Carillion to make the 2016 final dividend payment of £54.4 million, the service said, whose payment could not be justified in light of the 2016 full-year results nor was it something the company "could reasonably afford".

An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: "The Insolvency Service, acting on behalf of The Secretary of State for Business and Trade, has accepted a disqualification undertaking from Zafar Khan for 11 years for his conduct as a director of Carillion.

"As the litigation against the remaining directors is ongoing, with a trial set to commence the week of October 16, 2023, the Insolvency Service is unable to comment any further."

Last year, Mr Khan, chief executive Richard Howson and another finance director Richard Adam were fined a total of close to £1 million for issuing misleading statements to investors about the company's finances.

Mr Khan has told the media he had decided it was in the best interests of his family to draw a line under the process and provide an undertaking not to act as a director.

"I want to emphasise that, when I took on the role, I was aware the group faced significant commercial challenges and I devoted all my energies to overcoming these," he added.

"I believe I acted at all times in the best interests of the company. I regret that I was not able to make a big enough difference in the short time I was in post."

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