Five directors banned over £198k bounce back loan fraud
In the drive to catch bounce back loan fraudsters, bankruptcy restrictions totalling 48 years have been given to five individuals who took £198,894 in Covid-19 financial support
In each of the five cases, the bounce back loans were either wrongfully obtained through overstating their businesses turnover, or on behalf of a company that had already ceased trading prior to the pandemic, or were simply misused for personal use rather than legitimate business spending, the Insolvency Service said.
Charlene Wilson was a self-employed beauty therapist based in Jarrow. She received a £50,000 bounce back loan by overstating her turnover and spent around £15,000 on personal expenses. She has accepted bankruptcy restrictions for eight years.
Georgiana Cercel ran a beauty business from her home in Lincoln while studying full-time. She received a £50,000 bounce back loan by overstating her business turnover, and gave £10,000 to her sister. She is subject to bankruptcy restrictions for 10 years.
Florin Bodale worked as a building contractor through his company Varga Construction. He obtained a £50,000 bounce back loan by overstating his turnover, although he told investigators he believed he had been asked for total turnover for the previous three years. However, this amount would still have been less than half the turnover he stated. He has accepted a 10-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking.
Sarah Sweeting ran a farm shop home delivery service from October 2020. She obtained a £22,000 bounce back loan despite not being eligible as businesses had to have been trading prior to March 2020. Of the £22,000, she transferred around £14,000 to her husband. She has accepted a 10-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking.
Abbas Moradmand ran a tyre business from 2018 to 2019 then worked as a taxi driver. After a short closure the business re-opened and continued to trade under new ownership. However, Moradmand secured a bounce back loan of £26,894 to which he was not entitled as it was based on an application on behalf of his former tyre business. He has accepted a 10-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking.
Their bankruptcy restrictions mean none of the individuals are able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing their bankrupt status. They also cannot act as a company director without permission from the court.
In each of the above cases the local official receiver is working on potential recovery action.
Kevin Read, official receiver at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘In all of these cases it was obvious, or it should have been obvious, that they either misused the bounce back loan for personal benefit, took a larger loan than they were eligible for, or weren’t eligible for a bounce back loan at all.
‘This is taxpayers’ money they have abused and we will not hesitate to impose bankruptcy restrictions in these circumstances.’
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Borrowers of Bounce Back loans given six more months for repayments
Businesses that took out government-backed Bounce Back loans to get through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will now have greater flexibility to repay their loans, the government has announced.
The Pay as You Grow repayment flexibilities now include the option to delay all repayments for a further six months. This means businesses can choose to make no payments on their loans until 18 months after they originally took them out.
Pay as You Grow will also enable borrowers to extend the length of their loans from six to ten years, which reduces monthly repayments by almost half.
They can also make interest-only payments for six months to tailor their repayment schedule to suit their individual circumstances.
The Pay as You Grow options will be available to more than 1.4 million businesses which took out a total of nearly £45 billion through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
‘Businesses are continuing to feel the impact of extended disruption from COVID-19, and we’re determined to give them the backing and confidence they need to get through the pandemic.
‘That’s why we’re giving Bounce Back loan borrowers breathing space to get back on their feet, through greater flexibility and time to repay their loans on their terms.’
Internet links: GOV.UK news British Business Bank
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Bounce Back Loan repayment terms extended to 10 years
Bounce Back Loan borrowers will now have the option to tailor payments according to their individual circumstances with the option to delay all repayments for a further six months.
Pay as You Grow will be available to over 1.4 million businesses, which collectively took out nearly £45bn through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
The Treasury’s Pay as You Grow repayment flexibilities enable borrowers to tailor their repayment schedule, with the option to extend the length of their loans from six to 10 years (reducing monthly repayments by almost half), make interest-only payments for six months or pause repayments for up to six months.
The Chancellor has now extended the flexibility of the third option, which will now be available to all from their first repayment, rather than after six repayments have been made. This will mean that businesses can choose to make no payments on their loans until 18 months after they originally took them out.
These Pay as You Grow (PAYG) options will be available to more than 1.4 million businesses which took out a total of nearly £45bn through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. Businesses first began to receive the loans in May 2020 and the first repayments will become due from May 2021 onwards.
This is in addition to the government covering the costs of interest for the first year of the loan.
Pay as You Grow’s additional support, first announced by the Chancellor in September, will give borrowers the option to tailor repayments to their individual circumstances.
This will provide more time and greater flexibility to repay the loans.
The government has confirmed that lenders will reach out to borrowers to provide information on repayment schedules and how to access flexible repayment options.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘Businesses are continuing to feel the impact of extended disruption from Covid-19, and we’re determined to give them the backing and confidence they need to get through the pandemic.
‘That’s why we’re giving Bounce Back Loan borrowers breathing space to get back on their feet, through greater flexibility and time to repay their loans on their terms.’
Lenders will proactively and directly inform their customers of Pay as You Grow, and borrowers should only expect correspondence three months before their first repayments are due.
It will provide businesses with the following options:
- extend the length of the loan from six years to 10 at the same fixed interest rate of 2.5%;
- make interest-only payments for six months, with the option to use this up to three times throughout the loan; and
- pause repayments entirely for up to six months. This option is available once during the term of the Bounce Back Loan.
Business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, added: ‘The comprehensive and generous financial support package we have delivered across the UK has protected jobs, saved businesses and kept local economies on the move.
‘While our vaccine rollout is moving at an incredible pace and the end is in sight, we know times are still tough for many companies and extra support is needed.
‘These flexible repayment options will give businesses the time they need to recover from the pandemic before paying back loans, giving them the breathing space and confidence to build back better.’
The British Business Bank runs the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. The government has made clear that lenders are expected to offer pay as you go options to all borrowers under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Richard Bearman, managing director, small business lending, British Business Bank, said: ‘Pay As You Grow will provide tangible benefits to Bounce Back Loan recipients, many of whom may have accessed the Bounce Back Loan Scheme to borrow money for their business for the first time.
‘The scheme offers greater flexibility to businesses who may need flexibility in paying off their Bounce Back Loan and enables them to manage their repayments more effectively.’
Under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, no repayments or interest are due from the borrower during the first 12 months of the loan term.
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Changes to the Bounce Back Loan and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has provided support to many UK-based small businesses. Loans are between £2,000 and £50,000, capped at 25% of turnover, with a 100% government guarantee to the lender. The borrower does not have to make any repayments for the first 12 months, with the government covering the first 12 months’ interest payments. Under a Pay as you Grow scheme businesses will have options to:
- repay their loan over a period of up to ten years
- move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months (an option which they can use up to three times)
- pause their repayments entirely for up to six months (an option they can use once and only after having made six payments).
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme provides loan facilities to UK-based businesses with turnover under £45 million. The scheme provides loans of up to £5 million with an 80% government guarantee to the lender. The government does not charge businesses for this guarantee and also covers the first 12 months of interest payments and fees.
The government has announced that as part of the Winter Economy Plan it intends to allow CBILS lenders to extend the term of a loan up to ten years.
The government is also extending the CBILS and BBLS to 30 November 2020 for new applications.
Applications for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Future Fund will also be extended.
Internet link: gov.uk publications
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Lenders relax evidence requirements for business interruption loan scheme applications
On 27 April 2020 the UK’s seven largest small business lenders announced they had relaxed their evidence requirements for applications to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
The lenders will use their own information when processing and approving applications, rather than relying on businesses providing forecasts and business plans.
In a joint statement, the seven lenders and trade association UK Finance stated:
‘The reforms to CBILS announced by the British Business Bank and HM Treasury with the support of the regulators provide welcome changes that should enable banks to provide finance to businesses more quickly alongside other forms of support including capital repayment holidays.
‘Lenders are working hard to ensure we provide support swiftly and responsibly and we will continue to work closely with customers to help them identify the finance that is right for their business and financial circumstances.
‘Following the changes to the scheme announced today lenders will only ask businesses for information and data they might reasonably be able to provide at speed and we will not require the provision of forward-looking financial information or business plans from businesses applying for CBILS-backed lending, relying instead on our own information to assess credit and business viability.’
Internet link: UK Finance press release
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Government launches small business micro loan scheme
On 4 May 2020 the government launched a micro loan scheme for small businesses as it continues to try and mitigate the economic damage caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme allows small businesses adversely affected by COVID-19 to apply for up to £50,000, with the government guaranteeing 100% of the advance.
Businesses can apply for a minimum of £2,000, up to a maximum of £50,000 with the government paying the interest for the first 12 months.
Businesses will be able to access the loans through the existing network of accredited lenders and the government said it expects most applications to be approved within 24 hours.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
‘I know that some small businesses are still struggling to access credit.
‘They are, in many ways, the most exposed businesses to the impact of the coronavirus, and often find it harder to access credit in the first place.
‘If we want to benefit from their dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit as we recover our economy, they will need extra support to get through the crisis.
‘Some businesses will not want to take on more debt, which is why our focus has been on cash grants, tax cuts and tax deferrals. But for others, loans will be part of the answer.’
Internet link: GOV.UK publications
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