Bounce back loan fraud

City police launched 50% more loan fraud investigations in February City of London police commenced 50% more fraud probes in connection with the government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLs) in February than the month before. Police opened 26 such probes in February, up from 17 in January, a survey said. It opened a further 28 in March. Back in October the National Audit Office (NAO) estimated that the taxpayer could lose up to £26bn on the BBL scheme, which sees small businesses given up to £50,000 in loans. More than 1.5m businesses took out a loan before the scheme closed on 31 March 2021. Due to increased risk of credit and fraud risk related to the scheme, it has been estimated that between 35 and 60% of lenders could default on the losses.