{"id":34704,"date":"2025-04-20T04:44:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T04:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/34704\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T04:44:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T04:44:14","slug":"apprentice-winner-faces-huge-fine-in-rogue-trader-probe-after-his-air-con-firm-is-accused-of-not-having-key-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/34704\/","title":{"rendered":"Apprentice winner faces huge fine in rogue trader probe after his air-con firm is accused of not having key licence"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE Apprentice champ Dean Franklin is at the centre of a rogue trader probe over his show-winning business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Millions saw him triumph last week by impressing Lord Sugar<\/a> with air-con firm ADL.<\/p>\n

\"Lord<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

The Apprentice winner Dean Franklin, pictured with Lord Sugar, may need his \u00a3250,000 show prize to pay a massive fineCredit: PA\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

The self-styled Daddy Cool is grappling with claims he operated air-con firm ADL minus a licence\"Three<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Dean with units for ex-Spurs striker Lucas Moura<\/p>\n

But Essex-based Dean<\/a>, 34, is accused of not having a key licence for 17 months.<\/p>\n

The self-styled Daddy Cool may need his \u00a3250,000 show prize to pay a massive fine.<\/p>\n

The Married dad-of-two is accused of not obtaining an F-Gas certificate for ADL over a 17-month period.<\/p>\n

It is required to ensure fluorinated gases used in air-con units are handled properly.<\/p>\n

The firm faces possible civil prosecution by regulator the Environment Agency which can impose fines of up to \u00a3200,000 per breach.<\/p>\n

BBC<\/a> bosses appear to have not picked up on the row in the candidate selection process ahead of Thursday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n

Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke<\/a> said: \u201cThis is an embarrassment for the BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir reality shows seem to be lacking in carrying out due diligence, leaving them open to scandal after scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 3.5million viewers saw Dean, of Hornchurch, Essex<\/a>, face pizza firm boss Anisa Khan<\/a> in the final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dean told how ADL had a \u00a3500,000 turnover and \u00a3171,000 net profit. <\/p>\n

Lord Sugar declares winner and runner-up of The Apprentice series 19<\/p>\n

Lord Sugar<\/a> took up a 50 per cent share from Dean\u2019s wife and his business partner\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n

Refcom and the F-Gas \u00adRegister, which issue certificates on behalf of the Environment Agency, say ADL did not have one from forming in May 2020, until October 2021.<\/p>\n

In that time Dean posted pictures of him proudly delivering units to clients including ex-Spurs striker Lucas Moura<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dozens of reviews praise Upminster-based ADL in the same period.<\/p>\n

One customer wrote: \u201cDean and the lads were very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another added: \u201cDean is an expert. Highly recommend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graeme Fox, F-Gas Register scheme director, said: \u201cIf a company was operating without a valid certificate, it would have been trading illegally until it was registered.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘POTENTIAL BREACH’<\/p>\n

Sources said Dean was not made a director of ADL until April 2021.<\/p>\n

However, he became a 50 per cent shareholder in May 2020 and was described from the start on Companies House documents as \u201ca person with significant control\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sources said the licence for Dean\u2019s previous firm DF Air Conditioning would not cover the trading of ADL.<\/p>\n

DF Air held one from March 2020 until it dissolved in October 2021.<\/p>\n

The Environment Agency<\/a> said: \u201cWe are clear that it is against the law to work with F-Gas without the correct qualifications and certification.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are investigating reports of a potential breach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dean told us: \u201cI\u2019m not aware of any review or investigation. I\u2019ve been F-Gas certified since 2014 and have the necessary qualifications for my work.\u201d <\/p>\n

The BBC declined to comment.<\/p>\n

\"Dean<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

A Tory MP said the rogue trader probe is an ’embarrassment for the BBC’Credit: PA\"Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

The advert for\u2009Dean\u2019s business<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Apprentice champ Dean Franklin is at the centre of a rogue trader probe over his show-winning business.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[192,193,51,2653,560,897,1376,205,1377,118,1890,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-34704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-bbc-one","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-essex","12":"tag-exclusives","13":"tag-jobs","14":"tag-lord-alan-sugar","15":"tag-section-tvnews-tv","16":"tag-the-apprentice","17":"tag-the-sun-newspaper","18":"tag-the-sun-on-sunday","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114368470481364664","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}