Leanne Moynes

Introduction

Leanne Moynes is a businesswoman from Rutherglen, near Glasgow, who ran YSK Enterprises Limited as co-director alongside Kyle McGinness. The company imported hundreds of thousands of e-cigarettes into the UK mislabelled as medical nebulisers while telling HM Revenue and Customs it owed no tax, leaving debts of more than £15 million. After an Insolvency Service investigation, Moynes was disqualified as a company director for nine years, with her ban taking effect on Thursday 13 August 2026. Her case also covers a separate finding her co-director does not share: she failed to preserve the company’s accounting records, leaving investigators unable to verify what happened to more than £1.6 million in assets.

Background Information

YSK Enterprises Limited imported large quantities of vapes from China between February and April 2023. The company told HMRC it owed no VAT on its sales and failed to submit any corporation tax returns. HMRC calculated that the firm — directed by McGinness and Moynes — owed almost £15 million in unpaid VAT and customs duty, plus a further £437,101 in corporation tax. YSK Enterprises went into liquidation in 2024, and the Insolvency Service subsequently investigated the conduct of both directors.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Moynes’s nine-year ban is a civil disqualification secured by the Insolvency Service under company director disqualification rules — a public-protection sanction, not a criminal conviction. The government release records no criminal charges, prosecution or conviction against her, and nothing described here should be read as one. The findings set out below — the disguised imports, the unpaid taxes and the failed record-keeping — form the officially adjudicated basis of her nine-year disqualification. The ban’s purpose is preventive: keeping her away from company management rather than punishing her through the courts.

The scheme began to unravel at the border. In 2023, Border Force officers at Harwich intercepted a shipment addressed to YSK Enterprises Limited after goods labelled as nebulisers were found, on inspection, to be e-cigarettes — 352,688 of them. The company had been importing large quantities of vapes from China between February and April 2023, yet told HMRC it owed no VAT on its sales and submitted no corporation tax returns at all. HMRC’s subsequent calculation put the unpaid VAT and customs duty at almost £15 million, with a further £437,101 owed in corporation tax.

Moynes’s own file, however, contains a finding her co-director does not share. The Insolvency Service found she failed to preserve the company’s accounting records, despite repeated requests from the liquidator. As a result, investigators could not verify what happened to more than £1.6 million of the company’s assets, including land, machinery and vehicles. Beyond the tax evasion she shared with McGinness, Moynes’s conduct left a hole at the centre of the liquidation: the paper trail that would show where a seven-figure slice of company property went was never made available to investigators.

Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation Services at the Insolvency Service, said illicit and unregulated vapes are “a growing problem on our high streets, putting consumers and legitimate businesses at risk,” and that 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.” He described the scheme as “a deliberate attempt to avoid millions of pounds that should have been paid to the public purse.”

Both directors were disqualified for nine years. McGinness, 24, of Glasgow, had his disqualification imposed in June 2026. Moynes, 37, of Rutherglen, received the same term, with her ban coming into effect on Thursday 13 August 2026.

Public Reaction and Consequences

No public comment from Moynes herself appears in the Insolvency Service’s announcement; the reaction on record comes from the agencies behind the investigation. Magrath said the disqualifications mean the pair “cannot put other companies, creditors or consumers at risk in the same way.” HMRC’s Richard Hopwood, Head of Insolvency Profession, said his organisation is “determined to allow honest businesses to thrive” and will “pursue those who refuse to play by the rules.” Border Force’s Phillip Holliday said criminal gangs “peddling illegal vapes and tobacco undercut honest businesses and blight our high streets,” crediting “intelligence-led enforcement action” with “levelling the playing field for business” and “disrupting organised crime.” The personal consequence for Moynes is stark: since 13 August 2026 she cannot manage, form or promote any company without the permission of the court.

Current Status

Moynes’s disqualification came into force on Thursday 13 August 2026 and, at nine years, is set to run until August 2036. Throughout that period she may not manage, form or promote a company without the permission of the court. The Insolvency Service announced both bans publicly on 10 September 2026. Co-director Kyle McGinness, 24, of Glasgow, received an identical nine-year disqualification in June 2026. YSK Enterprises Limited remains in liquidation, and because Moynes failed to preserve its accounting records, the fate of more than £1.6 million in assets — land, machinery and vehicles — has still not been verified. The Service describes disqualification as one of its tools for protecting the public and legitimate businesses from directors who operate outside the rules.

Impact on Their Career/Life

For someone whose career was built on company directorship, a nine-year ban amounts to the end of it. Until August 2036, Moynes cannot legally serve as a director — or manage, form or promote any company — without the court’s permission. Her ban also carries a distinction her co-director’s does not: it encompasses the failure to preserve accounting records that left more than £1.6 million of company assets — land, machinery and vehicles — impossible to verify. The Insolvency Service framed the disqualifications squarely as protection, saying they ensure she and McGinness cannot put other companies, creditors or consumers at risk in the same way.

Sources

• The Insolvency Service / GOV.UK, “Glasgow directors banned after importing more than 350,000 vapes disguised as medical equipment in £15 million tax evasion scheme,” 10 September 2026 — source