The finance boss of failed operator Diamond Shortbreaks has been disqualified for 11 years after misappropriating £700,000 of company funds on failed foreign exchange trades.
The penalty was revealed by the government’s Insolvency Service.
Jamie Tann worked as financial director for the coach holidays and rail breaks specialist, which failed two years ago.
It was discovered that he was responsible for a payment worth £25,000 that did not reach a supplier four years after his appointment.
Tann’s employment with the opertor was terminated before Diamond Shortbreak Holidays entered into administration in March 2017.
The company entered into liquidation in February 2018 and caused job losses both in the UK and in South Africa.
Creditors were also owed money to the value of more than £10 million.
The Insolvency Service looked into the causes of the company’s failure and found that Tann had misappropriated funds belonging to the company worth at least £713,000 between March 2015 and January 2017.
Investigators spoke to Tann, who said that he had used the misappropriated funds to conduct foreign exchange trades and that all of the money was lost.
Further enquiries found that he caused Diamond Shortbreak Holidays to make payments due to the agent’s creditors into third party bank accounts, while also creating false payment requests from Diamond Shortbreak Holidays’ foreign exchange provider, which he paid either to himself or a third party.
He also received funds due to Diamond Shortbreak Holidays and paid them into accounts not belonging to the company, while failing to pay the funds back to the travel agent, according to the Insolvency Service .
Tann, from Wallasey, Merseyside, signed a disqualification undertaking in December and was banned for 11 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
Martin Gitner, Insolvency Service deputy head of insolvent investigations, said: “Jamie Tann was appointed to a position of trust at the company.
“However, he used that privilege to misuse hundreds and thousands of pounds on what turned out to be unsuccessful foreign exchange trades.
“Eleven years is a substantial ban and should serve as a warning to others that if you misuse company funds then we can have you struck off the register of company directors.”