Companies Act 2014 section 722

Fraudulent trading of company: offence

Section 722 makes it a serious criminal offence for any person to knowingly participate in carrying on a company's business with the intent to defraud creditors or for any other fraudulent purpose.

• A person who knowingly takes part in running a company's business in a fraudulent manner commits a criminal offence.
• The fraud may be directed at the company's own creditors, the creditors of any other person, or carried out for any other fraudulent purpose.
• The key element is that the person must have known they were participating in fraudulent activity — innocent or unwitting involvement is not caught by this provision.
• The offence is classified as a category 1 offence, which is the most serious category under the Companies Act 2014, carrying the heaviest penalties.