In the near future, greater powers will be given to the Insolvency Service to better investigate the misappropriation of COVID-19 loans.
There is now a temporary amnesty for COVID-19 loans that started on 12 September 2025 and we want to help you make the most of the opportunity.
Why is the COVID-19 loan amnesty useful for businesses?
In order to protect the economy from the ravages of the pandemic, the Government awarded a range of loans to businesses.
Since the pandemic ended, the Government has become aware that the number of fraudulent applications that passed through the net amounts to around £10 billion.
Given the current state of the economy, the Government are seeking to recover as much of this lost money as possible.
In cases where any amount of the funds were misused for any reason or were not actually needed, the Government is introducing a voluntary repayment scheme giving businesses and individuals until December 2025 to return those funds, no questions asked.
The loans targeted by the current amnesty include:
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
- Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
- Eat Out to Help Out Scheme
- Cultural Recovery Fund
- Business support grants
- Grants from the Department for Health & Social Care
- Covid-19 Business Loan Guarantee Schemes, such as the Bounce Back Loan
How can businesses use the COVID-19 amnesty?
Failure to repay a misused or un-needed loan during the amnesty may result in criminal action being taken against your business when the Government receives additional investigatory powers in 2026.
This will, at the very least, include a severe financial penalty but may also see those responsible for the loan facing further punishment.
If you are concerned about being able to repay a misused loan, we are on hand to help you.
We can help you to understand your options and whether repayment of other debts can be paused to accommodate the COVID-19 amnesty.
If the inability to repay the loan is symptomatic of wider financial problems, then it may be time to consider insolvency proceedings.
We can work with you to map out the necessary financial forecasts that will reveal whether your business is in a position to handle your outstanding debts.
The priority will be repaying any misused COVID-19 loans to avoid missing the amnesty.
For a no-obligation consultation, get in touch with our team of experts today and we can help you to understand your options.
