THE former boss of a Clydebank nuisance cold-call firm has been banned from being a company director for eight years.

Duncan Paul, an ex-director of now the liquidated CRDNN Limited, made staff at his company carry out 1.6million cold calls per day over four months in 2018.

The 51-year-old from Balmore in East Dunbartonshire resigned from the company which went under in 2021.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fined CRDNN Limited the maximum amount [£500,000] in 2020 after a raid on their premises in March 2018 revealed they had made over 63million automated calls.

However, the fine went unpaid. His co-director, 44-year-old Stephen Foote, 49, was previously banned from being a company director in January 2023.

Mike Smith, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Duncan Paul’s company plagued homes and businesses with nuisance cold-calls, disrupting the lives of millions of people.

"The calls were persistent, totally unsolicited, and to add to people’s frustration, they received further calls when they attempted to opt-out of receiving them.

"Paul and Foote were the directors of this firm and we have taken robust action to prevent them each from running or managing any company for eight years."

Trevor Callaghan, the ICO’s director of enforcement and investigations added: "The directors of CRDNN knowingly operated their business with a complete disregard for not only the law but also public safety.

"They harassed millions of people, causing disruption, annoyance and distress and recklessly affected important services potentially putting the wider public in danger.

"That’s why their conduct called for the maximum fine possible under the law.

"The ICO is committed to building strong partnerships with other agencies, including the Insolvency Service, to ensure our work has long term, tangible impact.

"Disrupting the activities of these rogue companies and their directors ensures they can’t easily resurface under a different name and continue to cause further harm to people."