Two Scottish directors banned after passing off 352,688 vapes as medical equipment
Key Points
- Kyle McGinness and Leanne Moynes disqualified as directors for nine years each
- YSK Enterprises Limited imported 352,688 vapes declared as medical nebulisers
- Border Force intercepted the shipment at Harwich in 2023
- HMRC calculated almost £15.44 million in unpaid VAT, customs duty and corporation tax
- More than £1.6 million in company assets cannot be traced after records went missing
Kyle McGinness and Leanne Moynes have received nine-year director bans after their company YSK Enterprises Limited imported 352,688 vapes labelled as nebulisers and left HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with an unpaid bill of almost £15.44 million.
The Insolvency Service announced the disqualifications after investigating the Glasgow-based company, which went into liquidation in 2024.
Border Force officers intercepted the shipment at Harwich in 2023 after opening goods declared as medical nebulisers and finding e-cigarettes inside.
YSK Enterprises Limited had brought in large quantities of vapes from China between February and April 2023, according to the Insolvency Service.
The company told HMRC that it owed no VAT on the sales and never submitted a corporation tax return.
HMRC calculated that YSK Enterprises Limited owed almost £15 million in unpaid VAT and customs duty, plus a further £437,101 in corporation tax.
Moynes also failed to hand over the company’s accounting records to the liquidator despite repeated requests.
Investigators could not establish what happened to more than £1.6 million of company assets as a result, including land, machinery and vehicles.
“McGinness and Moynes went to considerable lengths to disguise what they were importing and then compounded that deception by telling HMRC they owed no tax at all,” said Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation Services at the Insolvency Service.
“This was a deliberate attempt to avoid millions of pounds that should have been paid to the public purse,” he added.
Magrath said that illicit and unregulated vapes are a growing problem on UK high streets, putting consumers and legitimate businesses at risk.
“The majority pay the tax that is due, but we will work with partners to pursue those who refuse to play by the rules,” said Richard Hopwood, Head of Insolvency Profession at HMRC.
“Criminal gangs peddling illegal vapes and tobacco undercut honest businesses and blight our high streets,” said Phillip Holliday, Head of Central Region at Border Force.
The bans prevent McGinness and Moynes from managing, forming or promoting a company without permission from the court.
