Eric Agyeman, 46, of Mace Street, London, has been sentenced to two years and two months in prison for fraudulently securing £130,000 through the UK government’s Covid-19 Bounce Back Loan scheme.
The Old Bailey heard that Agyeman submitted three separate applications under the name of DOK Logistics UK Ltd, a company that never traded.
The scheme allowed businesses to take only one loan, but Agyeman inflated turnover figures of up to £375,000 to justify multiple claims, later admitting they were “just something I just made up.”
Investigators found that more than £40,000 of the money was used to ship goods to Ghana, where an associate sold them and returned commission payments. Proceeds were later brought back to the UK in cash by travellers.
In addition to his prison sentence, Agyeman has been banned from serving as a company director for five years.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, criticised his actions; “Eric Agyeman brazenly exploited a scheme designed to help struggling companies during the pandemic for his own personal gain, using the funds for a business operation in Africa.”
Authorities are now pursuing recovery of the stolen funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
