A 46-year-old man in London has been sentenced to prison for fraudulently obtaining Covid-19 Bounce Back Loans and using part of the money to fund a trading venture in Ghana.
Eric Agyeman, of Mace Street, admitted to fraud and money laundering after securing £130,000 through three separate loan applications for DOK Logistics UK Ltd, a company that never traded. The UK government’s pandemic relief scheme permitted only one loan per business.
Investigations by the Insolvency Service found that Agyeman had inflated company turnover figures to as high as £375,000 to qualify for the loans. During questioning, he admitted the numbers were fabricated, saying they were “just something I made up.”
Agyeman was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, September 9, to two years and two months in prison. He was also banned from acting as a company director for five years.
Officials revealed that more than £40,000 of the funds were used to ship goods to an associate in Ghana, who sold them and returned commissions to Agyeman. The proceeds were later repatriated to the UK in cash by couriers.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, condemned the fraud, stating that Agyeman had “exploited a scheme intended to support struggling businesses” and showed “complete disregard for taxpayer funds.”
Authorities say they remain committed to tracking down individuals who unlawfully profited from Covid-19 support schemes and are now seeking to recover the stolen funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
