The Insolvency Service has launched a legal action to ban eight former Carillion directors.
New business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng gave the go-ahead to the move pursuant to the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
The action, which comes three years after the collapse of Carillion in January 2018, follows a report about the conduct of each director submitted by the Official Receiver. Kwarteng decided it would be in the “public interest” that a court makes an order disqualifying the directors.
Among the individuals named are former chairman Philip Green, former chief executive Richard Howson who left the business in 2017, and Keith Cochrane. Two former finance directors – Zafar Khan and Richard Adam – are also named in the action, as are three non-executive directors: Alison Horner, Ceri Powell, and Andrew Dougal.
If the action is successful, the eight individuals could be banned for between two and 15 years each.
An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: “We can confirm that on 12 January 2021 the Secretary of State issued company director disqualification proceedings in the public interest against eight directors and former directors of Carillion.”
