Wholesaler banned for Covid loan fraud

A soft drinks wholesaler has been banned from holding any company directorship for nine years after admitting inflating figures to secure a loan under a Covid-19 pandemic support scheme.

Inderjit Singh Dadial, whose ban comes into effect from this week, was the sole director of Cali Juices Limited, a wholesaler of specialised soft drinks incorporated in 2019 with its registered address in Wolverhampton.

In June 2020, at the peak of the pandemic, Dadial secured £50,000 through the government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme to support struggling businesses.

While the company’s accounts for the year ending January 2020 showed a turnover of just over £2,000, the UK’s Insolvency Service found in an investigation that 31-year-old Dadial had in fact lied and stated the turnover was £250,000 to be able to access the loan.

“Inderjit Singh Dadial had significantly inflated the turnover on the application to obtain a loan to which Cali Juices Limited was not entitled,” said Dave Elliott, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service.

“The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to investigate and use its powers against those who have abused the Covid-19 support schemes,” he said.

It turned out that the firm was not eligible for any money under the scheme based on its actual accounts and income received into the company’s bank account.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng accepted a disqualification undertaking from Dadial, which prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.