DEEP PURPLE's Former Accountant Banned As Director For Misappropriating £2 Million
September 25, 2017, 6 years ago
Deep Purple’s former accountant has been banned as a company director for misappropriating at least £2 million from two entities controlling their catalogue of hits, reports Richard Partington of The Guardian.
Dipak Rao, who worked for Deep Purple between 1992 and 2014, has been disqualified for 11 years following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. It found he siphoned money into his personal accounts from two companies, Deep Purple (Overseas) Ltd and HEC Enterprises Ltd, between 2008 and 2014.
The 69-year-old, who lives in Worcester Park, south-west London, concealed what he had done by ensuring that the transactions did not appear in financial accounts and restricted access to the companies’ bank statements, the Insolvency Service said. He resigned in November 2014 as a director of both firms – which control the copyrights of many of the band’s recordings – before they went into administration in January last year.
The Times reported in January that lead singer Ian Gillan, 72, bassist Roger Glover, 71, and drummer Ian Paice, 69, as well as the estate of keyboard player Jon Lord - who died in 2012, sued Rao in the high court over his management of their financial affairs. The case, which is believed to be ongoing, is separate to the Insolvency Service investigation.
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