What does the official receiver check

During bankruptcy or compulsory liquidation, the official receiver is responsible for conducting an investigation into the financial affairs of the individual or company in question. This includes reviewing financial records, assets, and liabilities, as well as determining the cause of the bankruptcy or liquidation.

The official receiver will also assess whether any misconduct or fraud has occurred, and if so, may refer the case to the relevant authorities for further investigation.

Additionally, the official receiver will work with the creditors to develop a plan for paying off any outstanding debts and distributing any remaining assets. The official receiver is also responsible for ensuring that the process is carried out in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Official receivers are civil servants that work inside the Insolvency Service; they are officers of the court. They are liable for overseeing the underlying phases of your liquidation or DRO.

This incorporates advising your banks of your arrangement, gathering any resources you need to sell and exploring your financial issues. This all helps to ensure you aren’t breaching the rules of your bankruptcy process.

What does the Official Receiver investigate?

It’s the official receiver’s obligation to investigate ‘the conduct and financial affairs of the bankrupt for the period leading up to his/her bankruptcy’. This is done to assist them with working out why you have failed to keep on top of your debts.

They likewise research your income and spending, if you can stand to make any payments towards your debt throughout the bankruptcy process. In DRO cases, it’s down to the official receiver to survey your application and conclude where it will be conceded or not.

Does the Official Receiver check bank accounts?

The official receiver will interview you after you go bankrupt. You’ll need to bring a few things with you during this phase, including specific paperwork, such as bank statements.

They are unable to physically check your bank account, but they will go through the entirety of your transactions to get an outline of your financial situation. It’s then, at that point, dependent upon them to disseminate any profits from your savings to individuals you owe cash to.

Can the official receiver take money after discharge?

This will be reliant upon whether it’s agreed you’ll pay income instalments. 

Occasionally, if you have some disposable cash, the official receiver will coordinate for you to settle on payments into an ‘income payment arrangement/request’ (IPA/O).

This will keep going for a considerable length of time, despite the fact that you are released from liquidation following a year – in any case, this might be adjusted in case your conditions or pay changes assuming you have missed any payments during this time, then, at that point, the official receiver can pursue you for these.

Will the Official Receiver take my inherence?

This once more, will be reliant upon a couple of things; basically, where you get the inheritance funds.

In case this was before you went bankrupt, then, at that point, it will be considered a resource and will be taken by the official receiver. In situations where you get inheritance after you have been proclaimed bankrupt however you haven’t been released at this point, you should advise the official receiver and they will guarantee it.

In case you get inheritance after you’ve been released, then, at that point, the assets will have a place with you. You are not needed to inform the official receiver and they can’t take any of the cash.

Will the Official Receiver take my pension?

Savings inside a pension fund within liquidation aren’t considered a resource, which implies that by and large the official receiver will not be able to take this from you.

Nonetheless, in circumstances where you have made high commitments to your annuities, or your plan isn’t supported by HMRC then the official receiver can take from this. In different cases, where you can take a lump sum from your pension during your bankruptcy application that is sufficient to clear your debts, it may end up being rejected.

Will Official Receiver take my vehicle?

Lamentably, your vehicle can be impacted in both bankruptcy and a DRO, if you are its owner. In these cases, it will be considered a resource, and will either be asserted by the official receiver, or your application will be declined.

If your vehicle is on enlist buy or you got it through a restrictive deal understanding, then, at that point, the official receiver might permit you to keep it. This is on the grounds that it doesn’t have a place with you until you’ve paid it up.

Notwithstanding, you might in any case be compelled to surrender your vehicle as the DRO or liquidation might keep you from proceeding to make the payments.

In case you’re hoping to keep your vehicle, you do have the choice to let another person get it (at its legitimate worth) and afterward permit you to keep on utilising it. Yet, in case you purchase another vehicle with your own cash or money given to you, it will be taken by the official receiver to be sold towards your debts.

Read more: Check if a company is insolvent

How far back does official receiver go?

The official receiver will investigate your monetary undertakings in the period paving the way to bankruptcy. This will typically be any exchanges you have made inside five years preceding your application that identify with the deal or conveyance of resources, however it can vary from one case to another contingent upon your circumstance.

The justification behind this is to check assuming that you have sold anything for not as much as it’s worth (underestimate). In the case of anything is found, the official receiver will turn around the exchange and get the thing to shape part of your home.

Misleading the official receiver

It’s viewed as an offence to lie to the official receiver with regards to anything in your funds while applying for bankruptcy or a DRO.

It’s additionally significant not to conceal any resources, for example, unfamiliar properties or anything you own that is worth more than £500 as these should be given over to be sold towards your debts.

Assuming you’re found deceiving the official receiver, then, at that point, you will be punished via a heavy fine or as long as seven years in jail – sometimes it is both. On top of this, you could likewise be provided a Bankruptcy Restriction Order (BRO), which implies that the limitations you were at that point under could be stretched out for as long as 15 years.

What discipline you get will rely upon how bad the offence is, they will quite often be more extreme in case the offence is more severe.

Conclusion

The official receiver is a government appointed official who is responsible for managing the insolvency process of an individual or a company. As part of their legal duty, the official receiver is required to check all records and statements related to the insolvent individual or company.

This includes financial records, bank statements, and any other documents that may be relevant to the case. The official receiver must carefully review these documents to ensure that they are accurate and complete. They must also identify any suspicious or unusual transactions that may indicate fraud or mismanagement. This thorough review is necessary to ensure that the assets of the insolvent individual or company are distributed fairly among creditors and that any fraudulent activity is identified and dealt with appropriately.

Insolvency & Restructuring Expert at Business Insolvency Helpline | + posts

With over three decades of experience in the business and turnaround sector, Steve Jones is one of the founders of Business Insolvency Helpline. With specialist knowledge of Insolvency, Liquidations, Administration, Pre-packs, CVA, MVL, Restructuring Advice and Company investment.