Fund transfer between companies was a fraud

The transfer of monies from a firm behind a failing restaurant run by businessman Jeffrey Stokes to another owned by his wife, Pia Bang Stokes, was a fraud under company law, a judge has ruled.

Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan at the High Court ordered Mr Stokes, a co-director of Citywest Hire Ltd, which operated the Il Segreto restaurant in Merrion Row, Dublin, must repay €21,000 to the official liquidator of business, Myles Kirby.

Mr Kirby wanted the court to order repayment of €63,000 which he claimed had been wrongly transferred over an 11-day period in May/June 2013.

Yesterday, Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan said she was satisfied it was Jeffrey Stokes who, at a minimum, had control of the money which was transferred to a company called Petrolo, owned by his wife, and which itself ran another restaurant, the Unicorn. Mr Stokes must therefore repay the money.

However, because nearly €42,000 of the €63,000 had been paid on staff wages, and for supplies to the restaurant, she ordered only the balance of €21,000 be paid back to the liquidator.