Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Insolvency definition

What does Insolvency mean? In practice, insolvency describes a financial state where a debtor cannot meet liabilities when due, triggering remedies such as administration, liquidation or bankruptcy and informing directors’ duties and avoidance claims. For companies in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Insolvency Act 1986, s 123 sets two alternative tests: - Cash‑flow insolvency: an inability to pay debts as they fall due. The inquiry is practical and forward‑looking, not confined to today’s bills (Re Patrick & Lyon Ltd [1933] Ch 786; BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd v Eurosail [2013] UKSC 28). - Balance‑sheet insolvency: liabilities (including contingent and prospective liabilities) exceed assets on...

Directors’ statutory declarations of solvency in members’ voluntary liquidations: offence, evidential presumption, requirements and sentencing (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Under the insolvency Act 1986 (ia 1986), a company director commits a criminal offence by making a statutory declaration that a company is solvent without reasonable grounds. The case can be tried in either the magistrates' court or the Crown Court...

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Adam Craggs

RPC

Adam Craggs is a partner and head of RPC's Tax, Investigations and Financial Crime Team. He has been advising clients for over thirty-five years on contentious tax and financial crime matters. Adam typically acts for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trustees and corporates. He assists his clients on a wide range of contentious tax and financial crime issues, including investigations conducted by UK regulatory bodies. He advises those facing criminal fraud investigations and prosecutions and assists those facing urgent crisis situations, such as a 'dawn raid'. During his long career, Adam has led many cases through the civil and criminal courts, including several before the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union.He is experienced in managing complex cross-border international investigations, both civil and criminal....

Thomas Jenkins

RPC

Tom is Of Counsel in RPC's Tax, Investigations and Financial Crime team. He has extensive experience in conducting anti-corruption investigations and advising on the implementation and enhancement of compliance programmes. He advises individual and corporate clients facing a wide range of financial crime and regulatory defence challenges, including multi-jurisdictional investigations and prosecutions involving bribery, corruption, fraud, money laundering and market abuse.Tom acts for clients in a broad range of sectors with particular experience in engineering, heavy industry, construction, aviation, oil and gas, finance, commodities trading and healthcare. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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