Vertu Motors has seen its Companies House records falsely amended to show that a number of directors had left the company and fictional new board members were appointed.
Britain’s third-largest car dealership’s official Companies House page currently shows several directors have resigned and two new directors, including a ‘Mr Ice Crystal Augustus’ had been appointed in their place.
The group, which is still attempting to correct the record, is seeking a court injunction to prevent any further changes and wants an explanation from Companies House as to how this was allowed to happen.
The fraudulent amendments are another embarrassment for Companies House
Vertu Motors was forced to make a statement to investors on Wednesday explaining that the records had been ‘falsely amended by a malicious actor’.
The group said: ‘The company confirms that none of the above changes have legally occurred, and that therefore the company’s board of directors remains unchanged and is as listed on Vertu’s investor relations website and as referenced in previous announcements.’
Among the directors said to have had their appointment terminated on the falsified form are chief financial officer Karen Anderson and chief operations officer David Crane.
Vertu Motors added: ‘The company is in the process of liaising with Companies House to have the public record corrected, is seeking a court injunction to prevent any further changes being made to its public records by the malicious actor and is working with Companies House to establish how the malicious actor was able to access Companies House systems to make these changes.’
Official documents were falsely amended to show CFO and COO exited the firm
The fraudulent amendments are another embarrassment for Companies House after recent press reports highlighted the number of Britons finding out their home addresses have been registered as the address of unknown businesses.
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake told the Mail on Sunday this week that the Government would crack down on the problem.
‘This country has been fair game for criminals who abuse our system to register fraudulent companies for far too long,’ Mr Hollinrake said.
Companies House has been contacted for comment.
‘Mr Ice Crystal Augustus’ was shown as being appointed as a director at Vertu
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