Ad-hoc statistics on Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes relating to Bounce Back Loan abuse
Published 25 July 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ad-hoc-management-information-on-insolvency-service-enforcement-activity/ad-hoc-statistics-on-insolvency-service-enforcement-outcomes-relating-to-bounce-back-loan-abuse
The following numbers were presented in a speech at the Insolvency Live conference on 10 July 2023 by Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation and Enforcement Services at the Insolvency Service. We are making them available here to ensure equality of access to statistics, as well as transparency regarding the sources of this information.
These numbers relate to the activity of the Insolvency Service only. They are sourced from internal management information produced by a range of operational teams and should be considered estimates only.
Table 1: Outcomes and repayments in Bounce Back Loan (BBL) cases, Great Britain, 1 April 2022 to 31 May 2023
| Type | Total Amount |
|---|---|
| Criminal charging decisions | 89 [note 1] |
| Successful prosecutions | 9 |
| Criminal confiscation orders | £50,000 |
| Voluntary criminal repayments | £230,000 |
| Civil compensation orders | £231,000 |
| Voluntary civil repayments | £449,000 |
| Official Receiver recoveries | £300,000 [note 2] |
| Total recoveries | £1,100,000 [note 2] |
| Compulsory winding-up orders resulting from petitions presented by Barclays Bank | 116 |
[note 1] 89 decisions were made in the 2022/23 financial year. In total, 145 decisions were made over the period 1 April 2021 to 31 May 2023.
[note 2] These numbers may not include all cases and therefore the true amounts may be higher than this.
Monetary amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1,000.
Source: Management information extracted from Insolvency Service administrative systems
The numbers in table 2 relate to Insolvency Service investigations into directors of dissolved companies disqualified using powers provided by the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021.
Table 2: Investigations and outcomes relating to disqualification of directors of dissolved companies, Great Britain, 1 January 2022 to 31 May 2023
| Type | Total |
|---|---|
| Investigations commenced | 172 |
| Directors disqualified | 30 |
| Average (mean) length of disqualification | 9 years |
Source: Management information extracted from Insolvency Service administrative systems