The British Economy Ministry estimates the total amount of fraud linked to state-guaranteed loans during the pandemic at 4.9 billion pounds, or around 5.8 billion euros.
Lately, business has multiplied across the Channel: between business leaders who have used this money to pay themselves a salary, those who have taken advantage of it to renovate their homes or even others who have decided to gamble gambling, reports
Les Echos
.
“Full fraud assessment will take time”
So far, 159 business executives have been banned from practicing due to fraud.
However, the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee recalled in a report published in mid-May that the scale of the phenomenon could be much greater still.
"The full assessment of fraud will still take time, as estimates change based on payments made," the commission said.
47 billion pounds between April 2020 and March 2021
The ease of granting these loans guaranteed by the State would largely explain the extent of the fraud.
The companies in fact certified the information in their file themselves before being granted aid within 48 hours.
This device will ultimately cost 47 billion pounds, against 26 billion initially planned by the government, over a period from April 2020 to March 2021.
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