Lake District director banned after fraudulently securing £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan

A Lake District business director has been punished after being found guilty of abusing the government’s Covid support scheme by securing a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan through false financial claims.

Dr Saleem Akbar, associated with Touch of Glass Cumbria Ltd overstated the company’s turnover when applying for the pandemic-era loan in 2020. This allowed the business to obtain the maximum funding available under the scheme.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to help small businesses survive financial hardship allowing eligible firms to borrow up to 25% of their turnover capped at £50,000.

However investigations by the Insolvency Service revealed that the company had recorded no actual trading turnover in its accounts for multiple years meaning it was not eligible for the loan amount received.

The official report confirmed that the director had self-certified inaccurate financial information in order to obtain the funds. The loan which was issued quickly under emergency pandemic rules later became the subject of enforcement action.

As a result Dr Akbar has been disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years effectively banning him from managing or forming any company during that period.

The Insolvency Service stated that taxpayer-backed Covid loans must only be used for legitimate business purposes and warned that misuse of the scheme would lead to strict enforcement action.

The company behind the loan has since been dissolved following financial collapse linked to the unpaid debt.

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