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Phone Shop Owner Ordered to Repay £197,306 Within Three Months Over Covid Loan Fraud

Insolvency Service investigators used proceeds-of-crime powers to claw back indexed pandemic loan funds.

Overview

  • Swansea Crown Court issued the confiscation order on 19 January, giving Zahid Afzal three months to pay or face two years in prison.
  • Afzal had already secured £52,500 legitimately before fraudulently obtaining three further £50,000 Bounce Back Loans in 2020.
  • He falsely denied previous borrowing and inflated a company’s turnover to £200,000 despite earlier stating £80,000 to qualify for maximum loans.
  • A significant share of the £150,000 was moved from business accounts to his personal accounts, breaching scheme rules on business-only use.
  • A restraint order remains on his accounts, the £197,306 figure includes indexation, and he has repaid only £2,722 since the applications.