Abbas Abo Kifayah (37), from Kingsbury, north-west London, was the sole director of Al-Amir Ltd.
The company was, however, put into voluntary liquidation by its creditors in July 2021, triggering an investigation by the insolvency service.
Investigators found that Abbas Kifayah managed to secure a £50,000 bounce-back loan for Al-Amir Ltd in August 2020. However, Abbas Kifayah overstated the company’s turnover to secure a valuable loan greater than that to which Al-Amir Ltd was entitled.
Further inquiries revealed that once the £50,000 loan was placed in the company’s bank account, £43,200 was transferred to Abbas Kifayah’s personal account, while just over £3,000 £ were transferred to a third party and £2,250 was withdrawn in cash.
When Abbas Kifayah was asked about the dealings, he said £12,000 had been used to pay his salary and the rest for his backdated salary and personal use. However, investigators found no evidence that the money was used to benefit the company.
On June 30, 2022, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a 10-year disqualification pledge from Abbas Kifayah after he did not contest obtaining a repayment loan of £50,000 to which the company was not entitled and did not use the funds received for the economic benefit of Al-Amir Ltd.
As of July 21, 2022, Abbas Kifayah is prohibited from directly or indirectly involving himself in the promotion, creation or management of a business, without the authorization of the court.
The liquidator of Al-Amir Ltd is considering repayment of loans and recovery of funds.
Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Chief of Bankruptcy Investigations, said:
Rebound loans were available to support viable businesses during the pandemic. Abbas Kifayah, however, abused government support when he inflated his company’s turnover in order to receive the maximum loan before squandering the money rather than using it for the benefit of his business.
10 years is a long time to be removed from the corporate arena and the disqualification of Abbas Kifayah should serve as a clear warning that we will take decisive action to protect the public and the taxpayer.”
Notes to editors
Abbas Abo Kifayah is from Kingsbury, North West London and his date of birth is November 1984.
Al-Amir Ltd (company registration number 09398002).
Forfeiture undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a forfeiture order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a series of other restrictions.
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