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Haralambos Ioannou fraudulently applied for two separate Bounce Back Loans worth a total of £100,000 for Opti-Bond (GB) Ltd
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He spent large amounts of one loan on gambling, crypto investments, cash withdrawals and payments to his then wife
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The 49-year-old received a suspended sentence of 22-months in custody with 150 hours of unpaid work to be completed
The boss of a glazing firm who fraudulently applied for two Covid Bounce Back loans and spent significant sums on gambling and crypto investments has received a sentence of 22 months in custody, suspended for two years.
Just months into the pandemic, Haralombos Ioannou secured two maximum-value £50,000 Bounce Back Loans when businesses were only allowed one.
The 49-year-old used the first loan legitimately for his glass-fitting company, Opti-Bond (GB) Ltd.
However, money from the second loan was used for personal purposes, breaking the rules of the scheme.
Ioannou, of Cow Lane, Edlesborough, Buckinghamshire, but previously of South London, was given a 22-month suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday 7 October.
Ioannou was also disqualified as a company director for five years and ordered to pay £40,000 in compensation as well as complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said
Haralambos Ioannou exploited the Bounce Back Loan Scheme by fraudulently applying for a second Bounce Back Loan when companies could apply for one loan of up to £50,000 for support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He not only fraudulently applied for a second loan but then spent it on activities which had nothing to do with his company’s operations such as gambling, crypto-investments, cash withdrawals and payments to his then partner.
The Insolvency Service remains committed to taking robust action against those who abused the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. Government-backed schemes were a lifeline for businesses during the pandemic, and we will continue to pursue those who deliberately exploited this support at the taxpayers’ expense.
Ioannou was the sole director of Opti-Bond (GB) Ltd, which was set up in October 2019.
The 49-year-old submitted an application for a first loan of £50,000 in May 2020, stating his company’s 2019 turnover was £216,000.
He then submitted an application for a second loan of £50,000, but this time declared Opti-Bond’s turnover in 2019 was £236,000.
Ioannou received the £100,000 within an eight-day period between late June and early July 2020.
After receiving the second loan, Ioannou made 38 transactions totalling almost £20,000 to his personal account.
In the same period, around £25,000 of payments were made to gambling companies from this personal account.
Aside from gambling, approximately £8,000 of the second loan was transferred to investment and crypto-investment companies.
Almost £6,000 of the loan was withdrawn from ATM machines, whilst a further £16,000 of this loan was also transferred to an account in the name of Ioannou’s now ex-wife.
Opti-Bond (GB) Ltd entered liquidation in November 2021 but Ioannou failed to inform the liquidator of the company’s first Bounce Back Loan as he was legally required to do.