Businessman becomes first accused of furlough fraud

A BUSINESSMAN alleged to have committed a £495,000 furlough fraud has become the first to be arrested in connection with the Government scheme.

The 57-year-old man, who has not been named, was questioned by officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on Wednesday, in connection with his use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

HMRC said yesterday it was the first such arrest to happen.

Officers executed a search warrant in Solihull, West Midlands, seizing computers and other digital devices, while funds held in a bank account relating to the arrested man’s business have been frozen.

Richard Las, the acting director of the Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is part of the collective national effort to protect jobs.

“The vast majority of employers will have used the CJRS responsibly, but we will not hesitate to act on reports of abuse of the scheme. This is taxpayers’ money and any claim that proves to be fraudulent limits our ability to support people and deprives public services of essential funding.

“As usual, we have built steps in to prevent mistakes and fraud happening in the first place, but anyone who is concerned that their employer might be abusing the scheme should report it to HMRC online.”

More than £27.4 billion has been claimed through the scheme, supporting 1.1 million employers and 9.4 million furloughed jobs.

HMRC added that the man was also arrested in relation to a suspected multimillion-pound tax fraud and in connection with alleged money-laundering offences.

A further eight men from across the region have also been detained as part of a related investigation, which involved the deployment of more than 100 HMRC officers to 11 locations.

Computers, digital devices, and business and personal records were also seized during the raids.