Barclays has taken the first steps to claw back Covid loans handed out to suspected fraudsters.
The lender has asked the courts to close down at least 97 businesses over the past few months.
Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) were available to small businesses and were 100 per cent guaranteed by the Government. Lenders handed out £47billion under the scheme.
Pandemic fraud: Barclays has asked the courts to close down at least 97 businesses over the past few months
But earlier this year, it emerged that lenders had flagged £1.1billion as suspected fraud.
The final amount remains unclear, as the Department for Business estimated it closer to £4.9billion. Barclays has so far pencilled in potential fraud of £259million.
The Mail on Sunday revealed in June how the bank planned to use court proceedings to shut companies suspected of fraudulent borrowing, before handing over cases to a firm specialising in insolvency.
It is understood that the recent court proceedings are the first step in this process.
A Barclays spokesman said: ‘In certain circumstances, including where there appears to be a misuse of funds, formal recovery action may be taken to recover taxpayers’ money.’
