A businessman is under investigation after claiming more than £500,000 in Bounce Back loans for 12 firms that later went bust.
Sukhwant Singh Pahal used the Government scheme – set up to help small businesses survive the pandemic – to claim up to £50,000 per company.
One of his firms, Beans Housing Ltd, also received £1.1million from Birmingham City Council in 2017 to accommodate the homeless.
All 12 of Mr Pahal’s firms applied for voluntary liquidation in 2021 on insolvency grounds.
As the companies no longer exist, the loans will be written off, with taxpayers footing the bill.
Liquidator Ashok Bhardwaj is investigating the companies’ transactions and whether there is any evidence of “misfeasance or wrongful trading”.
In Companies House documents, he reported querying “large transactions with connected parties”.
The Insolvency Service said: “We cannot comment on our investigatory activity.”
Mr Pahal, who holds a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence from the council, did not respond to a request for comment.
