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The UK government’s measures to prevent fraud in its bounceback Covid-19 loan scheme for small businesses were “inadequate” and it needs to do more to recoup the estimated £5bn that was stolen, according to parliament’s spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office highlighted the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s focus on organised crime’s exploitation of the programme in a report today, and raised the risk of smaller fraudsters being able to escape unpunished.
The bounceback scheme, launched in May 2020, guaranteed bank loans of up to £50,000 to support businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. It was designed to deliver loans as quickly as possible, with limited verification and lenders performing no credit checks.
About a quarter of all UK companies applied, but official estimates…
