A Blackburn tour operator has been jailed for more than two years after fraudulently securing two £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loans, despite companies only being entitled to one.
Raja Imtiaz, 52, of London Road, Blackburn, dishonestly obtained the loans in June and July 2020 on behalf of his company, Al Fayroz Travel & Tourism Limited. Investigations by the Insolvency Service found he had falsely declared on his second application that it was the firm’s only request, even though he had already received the first payment.
At Preston Crown Court (pictured) on 18 September, Imtiaz was sentenced to two years and two months in prison and disqualified as a company director for six-and-a-half years.
Imtiaz told investigators he only submitted the second application because he was unsure whether the first loan had been approved. However, evidence showed the first £50,000 had already been paid when he made the second claim.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Raja Imtiaz exploited a scheme designed to support small businesses during the pandemic. The rules were crystal clear – businesses were only allowed a single loan. His dishonesty has landed him behind bars and serves as a warning that the Insolvency Service will relentlessly pursue fraudsters who so cynically abused Covid support schemes.”
Al Fayroz Travel & Tourism Limited was incorporated in October 2017, with Imtiaz appointed as a director in 2019. The fraudulent loan applications were made to two separate banks just weeks apart during the pandemic.
The Bounce Back Loan scheme, launched in May 2020, was designed to provide fast-track support to small businesses struggling during Covid, offering loans of up to £50,000 backed by government guarantees.
The case underscores the continued efforts of regulators to pursue Bounce Back Loan fraud, which cost the UK taxpayer billions. Authorities have pledged to clamp down on abuse of Covid support schemes, with disqualifications, prosecutions and jail sentences now a growing outcome for those found guilty.