A WOMAN applied for a £50,000 loan during the covid pandemic despite her company not being eligible for the funds.

Information on the government's Companies House and Insolvency Service websites show that Iram Shakeel applied for a Bounce Back Loan (BBL) of £50,000 in June 2020, for her 'Wowsome Company' business.

The BBL scheme was set up by the government to allow small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000, on the condition that the loan is no more than 25% of a business' turnover.

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The Companies House website shows that Ms Shakeel, whose last known address was in Leigh, became the sole director of the takeaway food shop and mobile food stand in December 2019.

The company changed its registered office from Shelton Street in London to Higher Bridge Street in Bolton in June 2021, and Mrs Shakeel applied for the Bounce Back Loan of £50,000 in June 2020.

In her application for the loan, Mrs Shakeel stated that Wowsome's turnover for 2019 was £295,000.

However, no accounts were filed at Companies House for the period ending November 30, 2019, which were due by November 27, 2020.

Further analysis of income from Wowsome's bank account statements from January 2019 to September 2021 showed total credits of £3,237, excluding the BBL funds.

This led investigators to conclude that the business was not actively trading in March 2020, which was part of the requirements to be eligible for the government loan.

Two weeks after the £50,000 loan was transferred into Wowsome's bank account, £42,000 was transferred to an associated company.

Following the investigation into Wowsome's account, a resolution was made to wind up the company and it was liquidated on December 15, 2021.

At the time of liquidation, a total of £48,852 was owed to creditors, of which £48,452 was in respect of the Bounce Back Loan and £400 to HMRC.

Mrs Shakeel has been disqualified from working as a director of any UK company for 10 years.