Dealer must repay full sum after court finds Bounce Back Loan application was false
A Bradford man who admitted obtaining a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan by false declaration has been ordered to repay the proceeds in full after a confiscation hearing at Bradford Crown Court.
On Thursday 6 August, a confiscation order for £66,917 was made against 49-year-old Javed Akhtar of Thornton Lane following an Insolvency Service investigation. He has been given three months to pay the money back in full. If he fails to do so, he faces a further period of imprisonment of up to six months but would remain liable for the debt.
Akhtar was previously sentenced in March this year to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work after admitting the offence. The original conviction related to a fraudulent Bounce Back Loan application made in May 2020 on behalf of Natasha Motors Ltd.
- Loan claimed: £50,000 (maximum under the scheme)
- Confiscation order: £66,917
- Time to repay: three months
- Previous sentence: 20 months suspended, 250 hours unpaid work
In his application for the loan, Akhtar declared that the company’s turnover was £400,000. Investigators found that declaration to be false. During interview under caution he described the business as "booming", but gave inconsistent figures for the company’s 2019 turnover, at one point saying it was £200,000 and at another that it was £300,000.
When Natasha Motors Ltd went into liquidation in April 2021, Akhtar did not provide adequate accounting records to the liquidator, the Insolvency Service said. In court he stated that the company accountant had completed the loan application form at his instruction. He also told investigators that around "99%" of the funds were used to purchase and sell on second-
"Javed Akhtar deliberately exploited a scheme designed to help genuine businesses survive the pandemic... This order means Akhtar does not benefit from his dishonesty. He must now repay every penny of the money he fraudulently obtained."
The comment was provided by Alexander Grierson, Head of Asset Recovery at the Insolvency Service, which pursued the confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The Insolvency Service said recovering the proceeds of such fraud is a priority to ensure that criminal behaviour does not go unrewarded.
Local context and implications
Bounce Back Loans were introduced in 2020 to support small businesses through a period of extraordinary economic disruption. While the vast majority of businesses used the scheme legitimately, cases such as this one show how the relief measures were sometimes misused.
For Bradford, the case underlines several local concerns: the vulnerability of emergency lending schemes to fraudulent claims, the challenge liquidators face when insolvent companies lack proper records, and the reputational impact on the city’s business community when high-profile abuses emerge.
Recovery of assets through confiscation orders can restore some public confidence by ensuring that those who profited from fraud are required to repay their gain. However, successful recovery depends on whether the defendant can pay. The court warned Akhtar that non-payment within the stipulated period could result in immediate custody in addition to the outstanding liability.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Loan applied for | £50,000 (May 2020) |
| Confiscation order | £66,917 (6 August) |
| Sentence (March) | 20 months suspended; 250 hours unpaid work |
Those with concerns about suspected fraud involving Covid-19 support schemes are encouraged to contact the Insolvency Service or local police. For Bradford residents, the case is a reminder that while emergency support saved many livelihoods, it also required vigilance from regulators and the community to prevent abuse.
