Police investigate dealers
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• A £20m suspected fraud involving the CG Whittaker contract hire and truck dealer group is under investigation by the South Yorkshire Police.
In one of the largest cases of its kind, the books of CG Whittaker's Yorkshire-based contract hire companies, Star Vehicle Contracts Ltd and CG Whittaker (Hire) Ltd, are being studied to find 300 missing commercial vehicles. The role of the two Mercedes-Benz truck dealers at Doncaster and Sheffield, previously owned by CG Whittaker Ltd, is also being scrutinised.
A South Yorks Police spokesman says: "We're investigating the question of real and purported vehicle purchase on HP and leasing agreements, and their subsequent hiring out — or not. We're also investigating certain aspects of the way the truck dealers were run under Whittaker."
The alleged fraud was on
covered when the holding company CG Whittaker (Holdings), truck dealer CG Whittaker Ltd and the two contract hire companies went into compulsory liquidation last autumn. Nearly £19.5m was owed by the holding company.
CG Whittaker (Hire) and Star Vehicle Contracts Ltd was understood to have had a fleet of about 500 CVs for hire. How ever, it now appears that around 300 vehicles had been financed which may never have existed.
Books and records have also been removed from company sites. Liquidator Grant Thornton says that customers and finance companies have been helping with the investigations.
Other documents show that the two dealers were unable to honour payments to MercedesBenz which repossessed stocks of cars and parts in July 1991. Since then the Sheffield dealer has been bought by the Northside Truck Centre and the Doncaster business by Charles Sidney.
The contract maintenance business CG Whittaker (Contracts) Ltd and the bodybuilders CG Whittaker (Refrigeration) Ltd and CG Whittaker (Europacoaches) Ltd went into receivership last year.