The High Court has closed down two businesses this month after it was found that they submitted false documents to at least 41 local authorities and the government’s bounce back loan (BBL) scheme to secure £230,000 worth of emergency support.
LV Distributions and SIO Traders were investigated by the Insolvency Service, which proved that neither company had ever actually traded.
One of the two had been claiming to supply personal protective equipment while the other had claimed to sell medical care products.
The Government has warned that it will be cracking down on Covid fraud and in June the Public Accounts Committee of MPs, for the department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS), that suspected Covid-related fraud amounted to £27bn.
It has been argued that some of this loss could be attributed to a failure to carry out basic checks and controls in the rush to get funding out to struggling businesses.
The message is clear.
Businesses need to make sure their paperwork is complete, clear and verifiable to avoid accusations of fraud and to keep a close eye on their cash flow if they are struggling to repay Covid-related loans.
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