9-year ban for Glasgow coffee wholesaler boss

Filippo Dioguardi, 58, based in Glasgow has been disqualified as a director for nine years.

He was sole director of Camardo Coffee (Scotland) Ltd, which was incorporated in 2015 and was registered initially at an address in East Kilbride, before relocating to Glasgow around May 2018.

Dioguardi was appointed as a director in September 2019, becoming sole director two months later.

The business went into liquidation shortly afterwards, in August 2020, at which point the last filed accounts showed assets totalling over £800,000.

However, due to the lack of company records kept by Filippo Dioguardi, it was impossible for the liquidator or the Insolvency Service to establish the accuracy of these, or whether any assets were disposed of at fair value and to the benefit of the company or its creditors.

Instead, Dioguardi refused to co-operate with the Insolvency Service investigation, which also identified he had taken out a taxpayer-backed Bounce Back Loan of £50,000 on 27 May 2020, less than two months before liquidation.

The investigation also noted outgoings from the company account between April 2020 and August 2020 of nearly £150,000, including cash withdrawals of over £70,000. Whether these funds were used for legitimate business use or for repaying creditors could not be established.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Filippo Dioguardi after he admitted failing to maintain or preserve, or provide, adequate accounting records. His ban runs from 25 March 2022 to 24 March 2031.

The disqualification undertaking prevents him from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at The Insolvency Service said:

Keeping proper records is a pivotal duty for directors and there is no place in the corporate arena for those who neglect their responsibilities in this area and thereby cover up the activities of the companies they manage.

The lack of records in this case made it impossible to determine whether there was other, more serious, misconduct involved and what became of £50,000 in Government backed funds which have not been accounted for. This is reflected in the lengthy period of disqualification.

Notes to editors

Filippo Dioguardi is an Italian national born March 1964 residing in Glasgow.

Camardo Coffee (Scotland) Ltd company number – SC500544

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.