A Bradford used car dealer has been ordered to repay the Covid funds.
Javed Akhtar was handed a confiscation order of £66,917 when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday 6 August.
According to the Insolvency Service, the 49-year-old must repay all the money within three months. If he fails to do so, he could face six months in prison and would still be required to pay back the funds.
Akhtar, of Thornton Lane, Bradford, was sentenced in March this year to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
He had previously admitted fraudulently applying for a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan for Natasha Motors Ltd in 2020.
Alexander Grierson, Head of Asset Recovery at the Insolvency Service, said: “Javed Akhtar deliberately exploited a scheme designed to help genuine businesses survive the pandemic.
“Pursuing confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act is a priority for the Insolvency Service, ensuring criminals cannot hold on to the proceeds of their fraud.
“This order means Akhtar does not benefit from his dishonesty. He must now repay every penny of the money he fraudulently obtained.
“Akhtar applied for the £50,000 Bounce Back Loan, the maximum allowed under the scheme, in May 2020. In the application, he claimed the company’s turnover was £400,000.
The declaration was false. Despite claims in his interview under caution that his business was “booming”, Akhtar inconsistently said that the company’s turnover for 2019 was £200,000 and £300,000.
He said the form had been completed on his instruction by the company’s accountant. However, he failed to hand over adequate accounting records to the liquidator when Natasha Motors Ltd went into liquidation in April 2021.
Akhtar added that “99%” of the funds were used to purchase and sell on second-hand cars to a contact in Ireland.
Financial investigations by the Insolvency Service identified assets including three cars and a solar panel investment worth more than £150,000, indicating Akhtar had sufficient assets to repay the Bounce Back Loan in full, along with an uplift to account for the change in the value of money since 2020.
Akhtar was disqualified as a company director in August 2023 for his failure to deliver up adequate accounting records. His six-year ban runs until August 2029.
