Barking cash and carry collapses with �3m debts

A cash and carry went bust with more than �3million of debts after its boss failed to keep track of payments, the Insolvency Service has revealed.

Cube cash and carry in River Road, Barking, collapsed four years ago after poor record keeping led to unaccounted payments to a senior member of staff totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds.

On Monday, the Insolvency Service announced it had barred the former director of Cube cash and carry, Nazim Osman, from heading any company for seven years.

Mr Osman, of Chigwell, Essex, told the Post today: “I didn’t really know what went on. I just let it go.”

The government agency imposed the ban after an investigation showed unexplained payments to the general manager of the cash and carry totalling at least �200,000 and at least �82,000 to a third party believed to be a relative of the manager.

In an official statement the Insolvency Service said: “Mr Osman failed to maintain or preserve proper accounting records and as a consequence the investigations of the official receiver and the liquidator have been severely hampered.

“It has not been possible to ascertain the reasons for significant payments made to individuals by the company.”

Cube cash and carry was wound up in the High Court in December 2008 with debts totalling more than �3.2million.