The previously unpublished data from Britain’s Department for Business, Energy and Industry (BEIS) gives the first firm indication of likely fraud levels in the scheme, which has faced scrutiny over the quality of checks on borrowers.
British banks handed out 47 billion pounds in total in government-guaranteed ‘bounce back loans’ from May 2020 to struggling small businesses hit by COVID-19 lockdowns.
A publication date for the latest report has not been fixed and the data are yet to be finalised, the source with direct knowledge of the data said.
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