Court order for man who lost £800k

Published on 18/02/2012 01:31

A MAN who “recklessly” gambled and lost more than £800,000 before being declared bankrupt has been hit with a court order restricting his financial operations for nine years.

Graeme Calvert, from Dumfries and Galloway, lost the money over a two-year period when he should have been paying his debts.

Scotland’s insolvency service, the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), said Mr Calvert, of Kirtlebridge, Lockerbie, was handed a nine-year bankruptcy restriction order (BRO) by a sheriff.

The order places restrictions on the 55-year-old’s future access to credit, his ability to manage a business and the types of jobs open to him.

The AiB said Dumfries Sheriff Court was told Mr Calvert had gambled and lost more than £800,000 over two years.

This included gambling more than £400,000 received from Dumfries and Galloway Council, in March 2009, to pay VAT bills for a nursing home he operated.

The agency also informed the court that Mr Calvert had disposed of a number of vehicles but was unable to account to AiB – as his appointed trustee – for the money from their sale.

The activities in question, believed to centre around online gambling in stocks and shares, happened before Mr Calvert was declared bankrupt in March 2010.