It is crucial to take legal advice as soon as possible if there is a possibility an investigation will be launched, or allegations have been made concerning COVID support schemes.
The UK government introduced several schemes that were designed to be implemented and accessible with minimal checking so that financial support could be delivered quickly.
The schemes were developed for businesses and included the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
To be accused of COVID fraud, a person may have broken one of the following laws:
Fraud by false representation (section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006)
False accounting (section 17 of the Theft Act 1968)
Conspiracy to defraud (common law offence)
Money laundering offences (sections 327, 328 & 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002)
Any claims of the Covid support schemes that may flag up as fraudulent will be investigated by HMRC to see if these laws have been broken, or if the claimant did not actually meet the requirements to make use of these schemes.
HMRC, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Investigation Service (NIS) are working together to track and locate those they believe have fraudulently claimed from the COVID support schemes.
Belgravia Solicitors offer expert advice, representation and assistance when defending allegations investigated by HMRC, the NCA and the NIS.
Investigations can also be commenced by referrals from Banks that provided the Covid loans and are seeking repayment from the Government when businesses are not making any repayments.
It is, therefore, to be expected that any business may be investigated if a loan is outstanding, or a grant has been paid and subsequently the business has been closed down. HMRC are now gathering evidence that the individual or business deliberately abused the schemes to their own financial benefit and deliberately closed the business to avoid repayment.
They will also be looking into if businesses were actually entitled to the money or if false declarations were made. They are also looking into any bogus businesses that were opened to claim money from the BBLS.
Allegations or charges involving COVID support scheme fraud offences often involve proving that a business, individual or group of individuals acted dishonestly which can be complex.
There may be many cases where totally innocent businesses are caught up in an investigation. A business can fail for a number of valid reasons, but HMRC may still investigate if large loans have not been repaid.
At Belgravia Solicitors we robustly challenge the evidence presented, where necessary challenging the procedures undertaken to obtain the evidence, challenge the admissibility of the evidence and ensure the evidence, a COVID support scheme fraud investigation case is built upon, is not misinterpreted and fight your corner to give you the best chance of achieving the result you want from your case.
We will always ensure that the evidence is properly considered and will instruct appropriate experts on your behalf when evidence needs to be obtained, challenged, further examined, or excluded.
If you, your business / company, a family member / relative, or a friend are accused of a COVID support scheme fraud offence, it is important to seek legal advice. Discussing your case with a specialist lawyer who understands COVID support scheme fraud offences at an early stage is essential to help understand what can be done to prepare a proper defence. We can be contacted on 03330 16 96 16 or on email: mail@belgraviasolicitors.co.uk