Abstract
The Insolvency Act 1986, s. 213 permits liquidators of companies in winding up to bring proceedings to obtain orders against those who have committed fraudulent trading. The most contentious element that has to be proved in a claim for fraudulent trading is that the business of the company was carried on with intent to defraud creditors or for any other fraudulent purpose. The phrase ‘intent to defraud’ has never been defined statutorily and there has been inconsistency concerning the test which should be applied and how the phrase should be interpreted. The article traces the manner in which the courts have interpreted the expression ‘intent to defraud,’ and in doing so it ascertains what the present test is for establishing intent to defraud.
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