Car dealer ordered to repay defrauded Covid loan

A second-hand car dealer who "deliberately exploited" a Covid loan scheme has been told to repay the money.

Javid Akhtar, of Thornton Lane, Bradford, was given a confiscation order of £66,917 when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday, after he pleaded guilty to overinflating his company's turnover.

Akhtar, 53, applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan in 2020 claiming his business Natasha Motors made £400,000 annually - but later told the Insolvency Service much lower figures.

In March, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work. He has now been given three months to repay the loan in full.

If he fails to do so, he could face six months in prison and would still be required to pay back the funds.

The Insolvency Service said when Akhtar applied for the Bounce Back Loan in May 2020, he applied for the maximum allowed under the scheme.

Alexander Grierson, head of asset recovery, said: "Javid 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."

During interviews with the Insolvency Service, Akhtar said his business had been "booming", but rather than citing the £400,000 turnover figured listed in his application for the loan, he mentioned £200,000 and £300,000 instead.

He told the service the form had been completed on his instruction by the company's accountant.

He also failed to hand over adequate accounting records to the liquidator when Natasha Motors Ltd went into liquidation in April 2021.

The government agency's investigation later found Akhtar owned enough assets to repay the loan, including three cars and a solar panel investment worth more than £150,000.

Akhtar was disqualified as a company director in August 2023 for his failure to deliver adequate accounting records.

His six-year ban runs until August 2029.

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