Former Cambridge Analytica chief executive Alexander James Ashburner Nix has been banned from running limited companies for seven years, after permitting companies to offer potentially unethical services to prospective clients.

He did not dispute that he caused or permitted SCL Elections or associated companies to market themselves as offering potentially unethical services to prospective clients; demonstrating a lack of commercial probity.

Effective from 5 October, Nix is disqualified from acting as a director or directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

He was a director of SCL Elections, a company that provided data analytics, marketing and communication services to political and commercial customers. He was also a director of five other connected UK companies: SCL Group, SCL Social, SCL Analytics, SCL Commercial and Cambridge Analytica UK.

From 2016, SCL Elections was included in a rebranding of associated companies which then operated under the trading names Cambridge Analytica, CA Political (Global) and CA Commercial.

SCL Elections and the five connected companies ceased trading following allegations in the UK and US media which created substantial adverse publicity.

All six companies entered into administration in May 2018 before entering into compulsory liquidation in April 2019. The companies’ insolvencies brought them to the attention of the Insolvency Service, which conducted investigations into the conduct of the directors.

Investigators’ enquiries confirmed that Alexander Nix had caused or permitted SCL Elections or associated companies to act with a lack of commercial probity.

The unethical services offered by the companies included bribery or honey trap stings, voter disengagement campaigns, obtaining information to discredit political opponents and spreading information anonymously in political campaigns.

Mark Bruce, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Following an extensive investigation, our conclusions were clear that SCL Elections had repeatedly offered shady political services to potential clients over a number of years.

“Company directors should act with commercial probity and this means acting honestly and correctly,” he continued, adding: “Alexander Nix’s actions did not meet the appropriate standard for a company director and his disqualification from managing limited companies for a significant amount of time is justified in the public interest.”

Share Story: