Former solicitor Phil Shiner gifted nearly £500,000 of assets to family members before declaring himself bankrupt, the Insolvency Service has revealed.
Shiner, previously director of Public Interest Lawyers, ran claims for Iraqi civilians over alleged injustices by British soldiers during the Iraq war. However, his allegations included fictitious murder and torture incidents, and he was found to have paid a ‘fixer’ for finding clients.
Shiner, who was struck off, has now had his bankruptcy extended by a further six years. £483,538 has been recovered after it was discovered he sold properties and transferred the money into a family trust and pension. A debt of £6.5m remains outstanding.
Justin Dionne, Official Receiver from the Insolvency Service, said: ‘Mr Shiner thought he could be clever by giving away his assets to his family members so that when he declared himself bankrupt there wasn’t anything to pay his creditors with.
‘Sadly he was mistaken as all his activities were easily spotted and we have since been able to recover a substantial amount of money, even if it was in his family’s name.’
