SHAMED businessman Reuben Singh has been declared bankrupt with debts estimated at more than £11m.
The self-styled tycoon - once labelled the world's youngest self-made millionaire and signed up as a government adviser - had failed to pay back a £900,000 loan to the Bank of Scotland.
The bankruptcy order was granted at Manchester County Court two years after Singh was unmasked by the M.E.N. as a serial fantasist.
Singh, 31, branded a liar by a judge, said he had offered to repay the loan over two years, but the bank refused.
Sources close to the bank confirmed his offer but said it was unclear where the money would come from to pay it.
Singh gained fame as a schoolboy after forming the fashion chain Miss Attitude while still a pupil at Manchester's William Hulme's Grammar School.
He was named the world's youngest self-made millionaire by the Guinness Book of Records with a fortune estimated at £27.5m.
He was also named as a `business hero' by the Treasury and the British Chambers of Commerce alongside Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar and met Tony Blair. But it was later revealed he had sold Miss Attitude for just £1, and he was dropped from rich lists.
The bankruptcy is being administered by the Official Receiver and means Singh's assets are frozen, he cannot obtain credit or be a director of a limited company.
Experts at the Manchester office of accountancy firm PKF have been appointed to see if any assets can be recovered.
After selling Miss Attidude, Singh ran an online secretarial company in Salford, AlldayPA, and secured the bank overdraft for £900,000 for which he provided a personal guarantee.
However, the company went bust and the bank called in the loan, leading to a court order to settle the debt, which had grown to £1.56m.
The court heard Singh used newspaper cuttings proclaiming his multi-millionaire status and entrepreneurial prowess to secure the overdraft facility.
Referring to the former bank employee who had agreed the overdraft, the judge said he . . . `was, I think, to some extent a victim of Mr Singh's personality as well as Mr Singh's lies.'
When asked at the time about his ability to pay the bank, he said: "Bankruptcy is not an option for me. The resources are available to me but I don't believe the bank rightfully deserve it."
In 2005, Singh tried to secure an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) - an alternative to bankruptcy which involves repaying creditors a fixed proportion of their debts.
A statement of his financial affairs detailed debts of £11.8m, including £9m to a Kuwaiti trading company, tens of thousands of pounds in credit card bills and loans, and £700,000 to his father.
The IVA was approved by creditors but the bank successfully challenged the decision.
In a statement issued through his lawyer Howard Young, of Bolton firm CMG Law, Mr Singh said: "I am at a loss to understand why Bank of Scotland did not settle and why it more than doubled its debt with legal costs. I can only surmise that there is a personal vendetta against me.
"The current situation brings to a conclusion a three and a half year process where Bank of Scotland have pursued me in relation to a personal guarantee. During this period, I have offered to repay the whole sum owed over a two-year period. The bank refused to accept that proposal. Subsequently, in court, the bank said that it would accept no proposals from me at whatever level those were offered.
"On the day of the most recent hearing, I offered several hundred thousand pounds to the bank's representatives to settle. My offer was rejected with no reason for the rejection being put forward.
"I will continue to co-operate with the Official Receiver."
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Bogus millionaire bankrupt
October 30, 2007
Reuben Singh
Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
KayeB, Walkden (30/10/2007 at 08:21)
Bejjy ex Salford now Malta, Malta (30/10/2007 at 09:06)
honda (30/10/2007 at 09:27)
ThePeaceMaker (30/10/2007 at 09:31)
Macca (30/10/2007 at 13:22)
"I offered several hundred thousand pounds to the bank's representatives to settle. My offer was rejected with no reason for the rejection being put forward."
He wanted to settle a multi million pound debt with a few hundred thousand ?
i think the reason for the banks refusal to accept is quite obvious, i've no doubt hardly any of the money he took will be recovered, it's either squandered, tucked away, or invested in property under the names of anyone but his own so it can't be touched.
the courts should threaten him with 10 years inside for every million he can't repay.
he's a common thief and should be treated as such.
i've seen people who claim benefits which they aren't entitled to jailed for stealing a fraction of the amount this guy has taken.
darren (30/10/2007 at 14:19)
KayeB, Walkden (30/10/2007 at 14:42)
ace, manchester (30/10/2007 at 14:44)
Total agreement with you this is happenning more and more in britain its time to stamp it out and give heavy prison sentences out for this massive fraud that costs us all,and threatens the future of the country.
mylifeinthemafia (30/10/2007 at 14:45)
Nicole Nixon, Sale (30/10/2007 at 15:10)
He was an awful businessman, surrounded by "yes" men who knew no better. He was intimidating in his dealings with his staff and used money to ringfence them in, in the hope they couldn't leave.
Now he is married and with a family you hope he grows up and starts to live in the real world like the rest of us, rather than palming off his family.
I, for one, don't want to see his face in the papers again. It makes my skin crawl.
martin in bristol (30/10/2007 at 15:20)
Kelly Best (30/10/2007 at 16:05)
Harvey Cressington-Wallace (30/10/2007 at 16:20)
He did the same the following week to a friend of mine, but this type in Bentley Continental GT. Very odd behaviour.
ace, manchester (30/10/2007 at 16:32)
The reason why people like him do things like that its to make themselves feel more important? by asking where a top class hotel is from a very expensive car "Knowing full well where he was" is saying to people im more important than you peaseants?? they are sick people ive known others to do this sort of behaviour when they have very little money but try and impress people??.
cynicalmanc (30/10/2007 at 16:40)
Right back in the mid 1990s when all the millionaire stories first surfaced, many things did not add up, and his own arrogance and attention-seeking tactics were the things that caught him out.
Harvey Cressington-Wallace (30/10/2007 at 17:21)
Ace, I knew exactly what he was up to. I advised him to first go onto Deansgate and enquired if he knew it. He answered 'no'.
It was quite laughable.
Kevin Smith, Manchester (30/10/2007 at 17:36)
He wasn't a bad guy and I know he rewarded people really well. There is one person on this forum who I recognise and she was really well paid for years. And now she is slagging him off!
KayeB, Walkden (30/10/2007 at 17:44)
Harvey Cressington-Wallace (30/10/2007 at 17:58)
His debts now total £11m. That doesn't include debts over his entire time in business. Maybe there were more. Maybe not.
Many people, whether organsiations or not, have lost £11m. There could be a small business that is owed so much that it won't get back that it has to go under, get rid of staff etc. That £11m has a knock on effect. Even to the Royal Bank of Scotland where increased write offs will eventually be recovered elsewhere by increasing charges etc. Tes he created jobs but anyone can go out and create jobs. What you have to do is ensure that you can pay your staff out of your own company's money, not others.
douglas, manchester (30/10/2007 at 18:06)
It is a well known fact in the banking circles of Manchester that the Bank of Scotland had to crush Reuben Singh to cover their mistakes. They had broken so my regulations and codes when doing the deal with him. This is really old news.
Pity he didn't have the millions to fight them properly in court. It was him versus the best lawyers in the land and the top QC! What a joke.
Banks are interested in money. We make and loose money everyday. But when there is some one standing at your door with hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay off his debt you do not shut the door.
So whats the big fuss? Who did he actually harm? His 2 business ideas that are mentioned are actually great successes. Both are running even today under different names or different owners.
Nothing at all in this or any other article points at the fact that other than the Institutions no one has lost in this Bankcruptcy. No individual innocent person.
So why not just close all our comments on Mr Singh.
Kevin Smith, Manchester (30/10/2007 at 18:13)
Please do elaborate on who was kicked. I worked for you in the company. At the time you were very happy to be the top of the tree and your pay was really good. Didn't two of the company managers get Mercedes company cars?
I have even used my full name for this forum. Why hide? If you dont like the guy atleast give your full name so.
Its funny how many people slagging him off are hiding behind nicknames and screen names.
Saint, Middleton (30/10/2007 at 19:59)
douglas, manchester (30/10/2007 at 20:45)
cynicalmanc (30/10/2007 at 21:27)
Lisa B, London (30/10/2007 at 22:27)
How many bosses do you know who paid for all the staff's lunch each Friday? How many bosses do you know that gave young people a chance to prove themselves andg gave them a career?
Your right. You only know half the story.
I would work for him anyday of the week. I only left because my family commitments moved me to the south of the country.