A property developer and lettings agent from the West Midlands has been disqualified as a company director for seven years after falsely claiming funds through government-backed pandemic loan schemes totalling £125,000.

Harjinder Singh legitimately claimed a £20,000 Bounce Back Loan (BBL) for HP Property (International) Ltd in May 2020 before fraudulently obtaining a further BBL and a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan later that year.

Following the legitimate application, Singh went to a second bank, falsely declaring it was his first application and secured a £30,000 Bounce Back Loan he was not entitled to.

He then failed to declare the £30,000 loan when he applied for a £95,000 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan later that year.

When interviewed by the Insolvency Service, Singh admitted that the application for the £30,000 broke the rules of the scheme, which was set up to help businesses survive one of the most difficult periods in recent memory.

In October 2020, Singh also applied for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, a separate government-backed scheme designed to help small and medium-sized businesses safeguard against lost revenues and disrupted cashflow during the pandemic.

Under the rules of that scheme, he was legally required to disclose any outstanding BBLs and to pay them back using the new funding. Although he disclosed the first £20,000 and paid it back, he failed to declare the £30,000.

Appearing in court in May, Singh was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities and disqualified as a company director for seven years.

Commenting on the case, Roger Isaacs, Forensic Partner at Milsted Langdon, said: “The Insolvency Service has made it clear that anyone found guilty of BBL fraud will face proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

“This involves complex legal and financial challenges into the provenance of what the authorities believe to be fraudulently obtained funds.

“Should anyone be faced with such proceedings, they should immediately engage the assistance of experts, such as our team at Milsted Langdon, who will help to ensure that the prosecution’s financial benefit calculations are fair.”