10-year disqualification for Oldham takeaway director over Covid loan claim
Rukia Begum, 46, from Oldham, has been disqualified as a director for 10 years after claiming Covid support to which her company was not entitled.
Begum was the sole director of New Polash Oldham, which traded as a takeaway from its incorporation in September 2018 until the company was dissolved in October 2020.
In May 2020, Begum applied for a £35,000 Bounce Back Loan for New Polash, stating that the takeaway's turnover for 2019 was £154,000.
Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which companies could apply for loans of up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, to a maximum of £50,000.
Under the rules of the scheme, companies had to have been trading by 1 March 2020, and be actively trading at the time of the application. Any loan money allocated was to be used for the economic benefit of the business.
Two months after receiving the Bounce Back Loan, Begum applied to dissolve the company. She signed the application form, despite this stating that a failure to notify any creditors was an offence. When the Insolvency Service began its investigation in July 2020, the company owed the full amount of the loan.
Investigators found that Begum had exaggerated the turnover of her company by around £110,400, and that New Polash Oldham was only entitled to a Bounce Back Loan of around £11,000 based on the takeaway's actual turnover.
She had also allowed the takeaway to continue trading in the three months before her application to dissolve New Polash Oldham – a breach of the Companies Act 1986.
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from the director, after she did not dispute that she had caused her company to receive Bounce Back Loans to which it was not entitled.
Begum's disqualification started on 9 February 2023, preventing her from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
A compensation order is being recommended to recover the money.
