Shakar Habib, a 28-year-old from Newham, London, has been handed a six-year ban from corporate involvement for failing to account for over £3.5 million in spending, including more than £2.5 million of public funding. Habib served as the sole director of Vista Training Solutions Limited, a London-based apprenticeship training provider that ceased operations in February 2020.
Vista Training Solutions specialises in offering training programs to students through enterprise schemes and has partnered with various organizations to deliver apprenticeships across London. The majority of its funding came from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
Upon the company’s liquidation, an investigation conducted by the Insolvency Service in collaboration with ESFA revealed that Habib was unable to provide a legitimate account for nearly £3.5 million from the company’s financial records. Additionally, Habib owed over £2.5 million to ESFA.
Investigations showed that Habib failed to maintain adequate company accounts, a legal obligation for company directors, with records missing from April 2019 onwards. This absence of financial documentation made it impossible to verify the legitimacy of £3.5 million in payments from the company’s bank accounts during its final year of operation. Furthermore, the company’s liquidator could not account for £525,000 in assets due to the lack of financial records. ESFA continues to collaborate with the Insolvency Practitioner to facilitate investigations aimed at recovering potential losses.
Marc Symons, Deputy Head of Investigations at the Insolvency Service, stated, “Shakar Habib disregarded his legal duty to keep accounting records. But thanks to the joint working between ESFA and the Insolvency Service, he has been removed from the corporate arena for a substantial period. His ban should be a stark warning to other rogue directors that we will act to protect the public from those who abuse taxpayers’ money.”
Andrew Thomas, Director of Finance and Provider Market Oversight at ESFA, affirmed their commitment to holding individuals and organizations accountable, emphasizing that ESFA would collaborate with regulatory partners across the government to ensure compliance.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Shakar Habib, with his six-year ban commencing on November 21, 2023. This disqualification prohibits him from participating in a company’s promotion, formation, or management without court permission.
