FOI release

FOI22/23-120 - Enforcement actions query

Updated 30 May 2023

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Our ref: FOI22/23-120

Date: 1 February 2023

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your email of 4 January 2023 in which you requested from the Insolvency Service:

  • How many enforcement actions the service has brought against company directors since December 2021?

  • How many of these related to Bounce Back Loan misuse or misuse of other Covid-19 financial support schemes?

  • The value (in £GBP) of money recovered through these enforcements, both in total and the amount recovered through enforcement of Covid financial assistance misuse;

  • How many investigations into Covid assistance misuse the Insolvency Service is currently pursuing?

  • The total number of enforcement actions taken between December 2019 and December 2021.

Your request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I can confirm the agency holds some of the information that you have requested.

Your request did not specify if you wanted information for civil enforcement, criminal enforcement or both. Where possible I have provided details for both but have been unable to provide details for the following:

  • The number of criminal enforcement actions the service has brought against company directors since December 2021.
  • The value (in £GBP) of money recovered in total through criminal enforcement action against directors.

This is due to the way we record criminal investigation targets on our database. To review all criminal outcomes obtained since December 2021 to establish if the target was a company director would take an unreasonable amount of time.

You have asked for details of ‘enforcement actions’ which is not a description we routinely use so I have interpreted this as ‘enforcement outcomes’. This refers to the obtaining of a disqualification undertaking/order, bankruptcy restrictions undertaking/order or prosecution.

I am able to provide the following information as at end December 2022:

  1. How many enforcement actions the service has brought against company directors since December 2021?

Up to end December 2022 the Insolvency Service has obtained 917 disqualifications against company directors since December 2021.

  1. How many of these related to Bounce Back Loan misuse or misuse of other Covid-19 financial support schemes?

Of the 917 disqualifications obtained against company directors 377 relate to misuse of the Bounce Back Loan or other Covid-19 financial support schemes.

Additionally, the Insolvency Service has obtained 4 criminal prosecutions related to misuse of the Bounce Back Loan or other Covid-19 financial support schemes.

  1. The value (in £GBP) of money recovered through these enforcements, both in total and the amount recovered through enforcement of Covid financial assistance misuse;

Up to end December 2022 a total of £128,446.73 had been recovered through compensation orders/undertakings obtained against disqualified directors. Of this amount £127,446.73 relates to the enforcement of Covid financial assistance misuse.

Up to end December 2022 at least £25,000 had been recovered through criminal enforcement of Covid financial assistance misuse.

  1. How many investigations into Covid assistance misuse the Insolvency Service is currently pursuing?

At end December 2022 the Insolvency Service had 763 active civil investigations into company directors where Covid assistance misuse features as a potential allegation. We also had 289 cases that have been authorised but not reached an outcome.

We had 46 active civil investigations into individuals subject to a bankruptcy order where Covid assistance misuse features as a potential allegation. We also had 11 cases that have been authorised but not reached an outcome.

In addition to the civil investigations, at end December 2022 there were 48 active criminal investigations into Covid assistance misuse ongoing. A further 26 criminal cases had been given a decision to proceed but have yet to reach an outcome. Please note that not all of these will relate to company directors.

  1. The total number of enforcement actions taken between December 2019 and December 2021.

The total number of enforcement actions between 1 December 2019 and 31 December 2021 was:

Director Disqualifications: 2,031

Bankruptcy and Debt Relief Restrictions: 694

Winding Up in the public interest: 86

Criminal Outcomes (all targets including, but not limited to, directors): 175 individuals convicted

If you are not satisfied with the response we have provided you and would like us to reconsider our decision by way of an internal review (IR), please contact our Information Rights Team at foi@insolvency.gov.uk or by post at:

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service

3rd Floor

Cannon House

18 Priory Queensway

Birmingham

B4 6FD

United Kingdom

You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) if you wish for them to investigate any complaint you may have in regards to our handling of your request. However, please note that the ICO is likely to expect an IR to have been completed in the first instance.

Kind regards

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service

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