Leicestershire restaurant boss banned for Bounce Back Loan abuse

A Leicestershire restaurant boss has been disqualified as a company director for misconduct including Bounce Back Loan abuse.

Savio Gilbert Pereira, 46, of Market Harborough, was the sole director of Himalayan Zest Takeaway, which was incorporated in April 2018 and traded as Himalayan Zest on Market Street in Lutterworth until it went into liquidation in November 2021.

In June 2020, Pereira applied for a Bounce Back Loan on behalf of Himalayan Zest. Under the rules of the scheme, companies could apply for loans of between £2,000 and £50,000, up to a maximum of 25% of their turnover for 2019.

Pereira stated that Himalayan Zest's turnover was around £207,500, which allowed the restaurant to receive the maximum £50,000 loan.

When the business went into liquidation the following year owing around £51,500, it triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service, which found that Pereira had exaggerated Himalayan Zest's turnover to falsely claim the loan.

Investigators discovered that the company only had around £54,600 in its bank account following receipt of the Bounce Back Loan, and between June and August that year, Pereira had made a £10,000 payment to himself, £28,000 in various debit payments to an unknown recipient and had withdrawn a total of £16,800 in cash.

Pereira was unable to prove that these transactions were for the economic support of the restaurant.

The secretary of state accepted a disqualification undertaking from Pereira in October after he did not dispute that he had caused his restaurant to falsely apply for a Bounce Back Loan of £50,000 and had failed to use the money for the economic benefit of the company.

Pereira's disqualification started on 15 November this year and lasts for 11 years, preventing him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

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