I'll try to be as concise as possible.
I'm an employee, own no shares, not a director or anything.
We have a long standing client of 10 years or so.
They we're headed (in the UK at least) by a Guy we know well. No personal connection as such but we're friendly and this company and ours have a shared office Xmas party most years.
Once or twice a year they would make a big purchase with us - the purchases were justified and needed by them and sold at a sensible margin by us. Shortly after these purchases my company would offer their boss a gift - consumer goods, couple of hundred pounds worth - I'd often be the person who ordered and paid for them (with company funds) as I buy all purchases.
About a year ago I receive an email from their boss - "please invoice us for X (business tool) but supply Y (pile of consumer goods about £1000 worth) with my boss CC'd so with my Boss's knowledge I did just that and the goods all went to their boss personally.
There has has been a falling out at their end, their boss has been sacked / resigned / left by mutual consent - were getting conflicting reports and an Audit team has arrived from afar - 12 hours flight far.
I've been asked about this invoice by their new boss (who worked under the old one and probably knew about it all). I didn't note the significance of the purchase at first and said "goods delivered as ordered and passed to Old Boss".
Yesterday they doorstopped one of the young guys in the office about the same thing -asking about serial numbers etc. We don't make any of this stuff and don't record serial numbers etc.
Rumour has it there's a large settlement due to the old boss to leave which hasn't been paid as yet - my concern is they'll seek to avoid paying it by proving he defrauded them by the above and if this happens I'll be in some way also liable as "just following orders" isn't an excuse.
I'm an employee, own no shares, not a director or anything.
We have a long standing client of 10 years or so.
They we're headed (in the UK at least) by a Guy we know well. No personal connection as such but we're friendly and this company and ours have a shared office Xmas party most years.
Once or twice a year they would make a big purchase with us - the purchases were justified and needed by them and sold at a sensible margin by us. Shortly after these purchases my company would offer their boss a gift - consumer goods, couple of hundred pounds worth - I'd often be the person who ordered and paid for them (with company funds) as I buy all purchases.
About a year ago I receive an email from their boss - "please invoice us for X (business tool) but supply Y (pile of consumer goods about £1000 worth) with my boss CC'd so with my Boss's knowledge I did just that and the goods all went to their boss personally.
There has has been a falling out at their end, their boss has been sacked / resigned / left by mutual consent - were getting conflicting reports and an Audit team has arrived from afar - 12 hours flight far.
I've been asked about this invoice by their new boss (who worked under the old one and probably knew about it all). I didn't note the significance of the purchase at first and said "goods delivered as ordered and passed to Old Boss".
Yesterday they doorstopped one of the young guys in the office about the same thing -asking about serial numbers etc. We don't make any of this stuff and don't record serial numbers etc.
Rumour has it there's a large settlement due to the old boss to leave which hasn't been paid as yet - my concern is they'll seek to avoid paying it by proving he defrauded them by the above and if this happens I'll be in some way also liable as "just following orders" isn't an excuse.