Mockler moves from fast lane to disqualification pits

Richard Mockler attracted a high-spending class of person during his career in the business from 1995 until 2007. His car Clondalkin dealership saw its turnover shoot up from €2 million to more than €20 million in 2007, a vertiginous climb.

Mr Mockler specialised in selling high-value vehicles to various business people before his business went into liquidation in 2009 with debts of €2.6 million.

His business associates included Lee Cullen, another car dealer who was reported in the Sunday World in 2006 to have made a €2.1 million payment to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

During the liquidation of his business, Mr Mockler outlined his own dealings with the bureau. He said CAB raided his home and premises in December 2007 as part of an investigation into the motor industry. It is prosecuting him for under-declaration of vehicle registration tax, according to Mr Mockler on “six or seven motor vehicles that had passed through the company books”.

This was, he said, a “negligible fraction” of sales. “Notwithstanding this and notwithstanding that I professed my innocence of deliberately underpaying VRT, I was prosecuted and, seven years later when my case came to trial, all charges against me were struck out.”

Mr Mockler said the publicity led to plans to refinance his debts with a new bank falling apart. While he admitted CAB was not the “sole cause” of his company woes, he claims it dealt it “fatal blows.”

“Rumours surrounding the CAB investigation made trading almost impossible,” he complained.

Yesterday, Mr Mockler was disqualified as a director for five years and ordered to repay €250,000.

In a detailed affidavit the liquidator of his business, Aidan Garcia, an accountant with Copsey Murray, said there was eight reasons he believed Mockler should be disqualified. This included, he said, "misappropriation of sale turnover . . . stock . . . maintaining two sets of sales invoices."

Other conduct in the company identified by the liquidator was “systematically under declaring its liabilities to the Revenue Commissioners . . . deliberate defrauding of Revenue . . . disguising company VAT liability.” Mr Mockler was also accused of “failure to discharge correct vehicle registration tax” and “use of company funds for private expenditure.”

Lifestyle expenditure

The liquidator said he was unable to account for sales proceeds of €1.8 million. In total €650,000 was used by company directors to fund “personal lifestyle expenditure” and this included €250,000 of company money being used to reduce the directors own personal borrowings. Other bills paid for by the company included “wine” and private school fees. About €700,000 of vehicle stock was found to be “missing”.

Mr Mockler denied all allegations of fraud, but admitted there was “confusion” around loans taken out by directors. He said this needed to be balanced against loans given by directors to the company. These loans included, he said, €150,000 given to him by a “J Mansfield” to invest in his firm. Clearly this money was not enough however.

Mr Mockler’s counsel admitted yesterday: “In hindsight he should have put the company into liquidation at an earlier date.”

On his Facebook page Mr Mockler is smiling at the camera, a glass of wine in hand. Now based in Canada, his reaction to the disqualification could not be determined – he was not in court yesterday.