"Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games shouldn't be banned"? Get an original essayThe collapsed British company Carillion Coming under political fire for paying dividends while racking up large debts and a pension deficit, it has distributed more than $1 billion to shareholders since it was created 19 years ago, a Reuters analysis shows to shareholders each year, taking its dividends from 4p-a-share in 1999 to 18.45p a share in 2016, according to analysis of its accounts. This means it has paid out a total of £775.8m ($1.1 billion) to shareholders over its lifetime until its liquidation this week, according to Reuters calculations, Carillion collapsed on Monday, with a pension deficit of £900 million (1.1 billion). dollars) and owed nearly £1.3 billion to its lenders when its banks pulled the plug. It was working on 450 state projects, including the construction and maintenance of hospitals and schools, defense sites and a high-speed rail line, and its liquidation forced the government to intervene to ensure public services. Britain's biggest corporate failure in a decade has provoked anger among the country's lawmakers. Rachel Reeves, chair of Parliament's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said Carillion had paid dividends to its investors "year after year", despite its debts and pension deficit. He tweeted that the government ""must do much more to stop companies diverting money to the detriment of suppliers, workers and British taxpayers." The findings reported by Carillion are under scrutiny. Business Secretary Greg Clark said on Tuesday that it has asked the Financial Reporting Council regulator to investigate Carillion's past and present accounts to shed light on what led to its liquidation. It added that it has also asked the government agency Insolvency Service to quickly launch an investigation. investigation into the company's directors. Carillion's origins date back 200 years, although the modern company was created in 1999 following its split from Tarmac - for the 2016 financial year for the company's problems to come to light - the company outlined its "progressive" policy for shareholder payouts, which aimed ""to increase the dividend each year substantially in line with underlying earnings per share growth" . Its underlying earnings per share rose 1% to 35.3 pence that year, and its dividend was also increased 1% from 18.25 pence per share in 2015. But at the same time its pre-tax profit fell 5% to £146.7m and the pension deficit more than doubled to £804.8m, the annual report shows. The Pension Protection Fund, the statutory body which manages the pension schemes of insolvent companies, says the company's pension deficit now stands at around £900 million. The problems that led to its collapse exploded in July last year, when it issued a profit warning to investors, warning it was taking an £845 million write-down to account for tightening contracts, and said it would suspend its dividends for 2017. Its shares fell 39% on the day. Remember: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay."