Takeaway owner who pocketed Covid loan handed suspended prison sentence

A takeaway owner who transferred a £30,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan into personal accounts has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Zaman Shaa of Woodside Road, Salisbury, was director of Shaa Ventures Ltd, which managed Chutneys Indian takeaway on Estcourt Road, Salisbury, when he applied for the loan in August 2020.

Investigations by the Insolvency Service found he had not used the funds as stated in his application, but transferred the money into personal accounts, sent some abroad and withdrawn significant amounts in cash.

Shaa was also found to have applied to dissolve the business without informing creditors, despite it having traded in the preceding three months.

On Friday 23 February he was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, banned from being a company director for two years and told to pay costs of £6,000.

Pete Fulham, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Zaman Shaa exploited a scheme intended to help businesses during a national emergency for his own personal gain. His actions cannot simply be dismissed as something he did in the spur of the moment. They required a degree of planning and sophistication over a number of weeks to execute.

"The sentence and disqualification order for Shaa demonstrate we will not hesitate to take action against directors who have abused Covid financial support in such a manner."

The disqualification order prevents Shaa from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without the permission of the court before February 2026.

Shaa no longer has any involvement at the takeaway.

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