Companies House insists it cannot find any fault with its own systems after Vertu Motors’ listed company information on its official register was maliciously hacked.
“Our preliminary findings have identified no issues with Companies House systems in relation to this matter and we will continue to work with the company to resolve it,” it told AM. “We will continue to investigate and take appropriate action if there is evidence that an offence has been committed.”
The publicly available records of Britain’s third-largest car dealership Vertu Motors were falsely amended to show that a number of directors had resigned from the company and fictional new board members including a ‘Mr Ice Crystal Augustus’ had been appointed in their place. Vertu Motors made a statement to investors on Wednesday November 1 explaining that the records had been ‘falsely amended by a malicious actor’.
Deliberately filing false information on the register is a serious offence and people who have been found to have knowingly done this can face prosecution. A person found guilty could face a fine or up to two years’ imprisonment or both.
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 are chief financial officer Karen Anderson and chief operations officer David Crane.
Vertu Motors said it was making no statement and that the page had been updated. However, on Friday AM consulted the page in question showing details of company officers and found that the incorrect information was still being displayed (pictured).
A Companies House spokesman said forthcoming legislation which achieved Royal Assent last week will significantly enhance the role and powers of the Registrar of Companies. “The Act will enable us to query, reject and, in some cases, remove information that seems incorrect or inconsistent with information already on the register.”