A letting agency director who transferred over £105,000 from his company account to his personal account has been sentenced for fraud.

Ghanshyam Sarup Batra, also known as Shyam Batra, of Harlow, Essex, moved the money over four days in May 2017-beginning less than an hour after a court-appointed receiver took control of the agency.

Convicted after years of investigation

Batra, director of Dylan Lettings Worldwide Limited, received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. He remains banned as a company director until March 2028 following a seven-year disqualification order imposed in 2021.

The transfers began just 45 minutes after the receiver was appointed, with £50,000 moved immediately. The company account was left with just £3.48. Dylan Lettings entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation in October 2017 with liabilities of at least £571,000.

No assets were realised during the liquidation and no dividends were paid to creditors.

The case highlights the importance of due diligence when selecting letting agents. Landlords should verify that agents hold proper client money protection and are members of recognised redress schemes.

Warning to others

Chris Wood, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Ghanshyam Sarup Batra knew exactly what he was doing when he emptied the company’s bank account. Within an hour of losing control of the business, he began moving money into his own pocket, leaving creditors with nothing.”

This was a deliberate and dishonest act, and the jury saw through his attempts to justify it. This conviction should serve as a warning that we will pursue those who try to cheat creditors out of money they are owed.

Dylan Lettings managed three apartment blocks previously converted from hotels. Batra was registered as leaseholder on all apartments, with the freeholds owned by separate companies.

The scheme unravelled when Batra and the associated companies were ordered to pay a confidential settlement related to £6.5 million in arrears owed to mortgage lenders. When the settlement went unpaid, a receiver was appointed.

Proceeds of crime action ongoing

The Insolvency Service is also seeking confiscation of funds against Batra under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

For landlords, the case reinforces the importance of checking agent credentials. The Property Redress Scheme, The Property Ombudsman and industry bodies such as Propertymark maintain searchable databases of registered members.

Opinion

When an agent collapses, landlords often lose rent, deposits or both. The Dylan Lettings case is extreme, but smaller failures happen regularly. Landlords should check client money protection arrangements annually and consider whether their agent carries adequate professional indemnity insurance. Prevention costs nothing – recovery rarely delivers.