he Chancellor has announced a new £25million ‘fraud squad’ after billions of pounds of taxpayer money was reportedly lost to Covid scammers.
Rishi Sunak will launch the new Public Sector Fraud Authority in July. It follows reports that £4.9billion worth of Government bounce back loans, given out by the Government to help struggling businesses during the pandemic, were squandered or smuggled out of the UK.
The Government said the new body will recruit data analytics experts and economic crime investigators to recover money stolen from Covid support schemes and identify suspicious companies.
“We will chase down fraudsters who rip off the taxpayer,” Mr Sunak said.
“This elite fraud squad, backed by £25 million, will ensure the latest counter fraud techniques are being used to track down these criminals.
“People are rightly furious that fraudsters took advantage of our vital Covid support schemes, and we are acting to make sure they pay the price.”
An investigation by revealed fraudsters had fleeced the taxpayer using the Government’s Covid loan scheme.
The bounce back scheme was designed to help small businesses through lockdown. Businesses could apply for loans of up to £50,000 based on their turnover, which they self-declared.
The loans were offered at a fixed rate of 2.5 per cent and the money was supposed to be paid back over six years.
For the first year the Government covered the interest. The money was provided by banks, but…
