A trailblazer of Covid-19 financial mismanagement has been exposed in Wolverhampton, where a director's audacious scheme to secure £30,000 in Bounce Back Loans has come crashing down. Sohail Cheema, 35, has been handed a suspended prison sentence and a decade-long ban from company directorship after admitting to fraud and money laundering.
Investigators revealed that Cheema made two separate applications for £15,000 loans in 2020, claiming his company, Sohail Cheema Limited, had an annual turnover of £60,000. However, this was a gross exaggeration – the business, which supplied agency employment services as a self-employed bus driver, had not been actively trading at the time.
The Insolvency Service found that, on the same day each loan was disbursed, Cheema swiftly transferred the entire £15,000 into his personal bank accounts and those of his wife. No evidence suggested any of the £30,000 was used for the company's benefit, a core requirement of the government-backed scheme.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court on 29 June, Cheema received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, along with a 10-year ban from acting as a company director. The court also ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and undertake 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, condemned Cheema's actions, stating that he knowingly made false applications and diverted all funds away from his business. Snasdell reaffirmed that Bounce Back Loans were designed to support genuine businesses struggling during the pandemic, funded by taxpayers' money.
The Insolvency Service is now pursuing recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, aiming to reclaim the £30,000 unlawfully claimed by Cheema. His company, Sohail Cheema Limited, entered liquidation in May 2021, further highlighting the lack of legitimate business activity.