Consultancy director banned for abusing COVID-19 financial support scheme

A consultancy director who claimed £30,000 Bounce Back Loan he was not entitled to, and spent nearly a third on personal use has been banned for eight years.

Richard Milne, 44, from Kingston-upon-Thames, was director of Langshot Ltd, a small consultancy incorporated in 2016.

He applied for a £30,000 Bounce Back Loan on behalf of the company in May 2020 despite the company accounts showing annual turnover of around £50,000. The maximum the company was eligible to claim under the scheme was just under £13,000.

The company received a £30,000 Bounce Back Loan and Mr Milne spent nearly £8,000 on personal expenditure, in clear breach of the loan terms that required Bounce Back Loans to only be used for legitimate business use.

Langshot was placed in voluntary liquidation in March 2021 before the liquidator passed on concerns regarding Mr Milne’s conduct to the Insolvency Service for further investigation.

At the point of liquidation, the company director’s loan account was overdrawn by just over £30,000 and Mr Milne has agreed to a repayment schedule of £650 per month to the liquidator.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr Milne after he admitted to applying for a larger Bounce Back Loan than the company was entitled to, and using some of the money for personal expenditure.

Source Financial Accountant click here to read more.