The Apprentice finalist Marnie Swindells faces a potential investigation over a £50,000 loan her firm received to help it through lockdown.
Her company Bronx Boxing Limited got the money through the Bounce Back Loan scheme, which was set up by the Government to assist businesses to survive the pandemic.
Firms could claim a loan of 25% of their turnover up to a maximum of £50,000.
Bronx Boxing Ltd was incorporated in July 2019 but only opened for business last month at premises in Camberwell, South London.
It received the loan in July 2020, three months after the first lockdown began, but had zero turnover that financial year, and zero turnover the next year.
The accounts for the first year show it had a capital deficit of £1,367 and just one employee.
A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said that to take out a Bounce Back Loan, a business must have met the eligibility criteria, including that they are engaging in trading or commercial activity at the date of the application.
The Mirror asked Ms Swindells, 28, if she had given misleading information in order to obtain the loan.
A spokesperson said: "It is categorically untrue to imply there has been any wrongdoing regarding a bounce back loan application. All the criteria required were met, the loan was completed correctly and is being paid back in full as per the terms of the agreement."
Ms Swindells revealed in last week’s semi-final of BBC show The Apprentice that she had received the loan.
When Lord Sugar, who will invest in one of the contestants’ businesses, asked about her company’s funding, she replied: “It’s a £150,000 grant from Sport England, £50,000 grant from London Marathon Trust, and £100,000 interest free loan from Sporting Assets. I have a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan.”
Giving misleading information to get a Bounce Back Loan can lead to people being barred from acting as a company director and, in rare cases, prosecution for fraud. In this financial year to the end of February, 407 directors have been banned for abusing the loan scheme.
The number barred for the same reason in the past financial year was 141.
Investigations into loans that are suspected to have been obtained using false information are carried out by the Insolvency Service.
The Insolvency Service said each case is judged on its own merits, adding: “The investigators consider the public interest test and whether bringing proceedings is ‘fair and just’ in the context of the individual case.
“We gather evidence to show what was known to the director at the time, obtain the director’s explanation for their actions, and consider if their actions and explanation... were reasonable.
“If their actions cannot be considered to be reasonable on this basis and there is sufficient evidence for disqualification it is likely we would seek authorisation to pursue the case.”
The loan scheme resulted in £46billion being made available. The Government estimates the money saved 500,000 enterprises.
But the scheme has been criticised for the lack of checks. Insolvency experts Begbies Traynor have probed many cases of firms that entered liquidation without repaying the loans.
It said: “The loans worked by getting money to businesses that needed it quickly, but with a low-barrier test you are going to get people who take advantage of that.”
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee estimates up to 60% of loans from the scheme – £27bn – might never be repaid.
Ms Swindells told Lord Sugar that if she wins The Apprentice she will use his £250,000 investment to open a Central London gym. Her fellow finalist, Rochelle Anthony, 35, of Milton Keynes, Bucks, hopes to open a hair salon in the capital.
* The final is on Thursday at 9pm on BBC1.
