Stanmore Boss Pocketed £25k Bounce Back Loan Then Shut Up Shop
Rajesh Dhirajlal Vaghela, 46, from Stanmore, has been slapped with a suspended six-month jail term after ripping off taxpayers by abusing the government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme.
Loan Fraud Uncovered After Business Dissolved
Vaghela, director of RKV Consultancy Ltd, secured a £25,000 Bounce Back Loan in May 2020. But within just a week, he slammed the brakes on his business, filing to dissolve the company without telling his bank—an outright criminal offence.
He then funneled the loan cash straight into his personal accounts, dodging repayment and exploiting the very taxpayer funds designed to help genuine firms weather the pandemic storm.
Crackdown on Covid Loan Abusers
The Insolvency Service, armed with new powers since December 2021, tracked Vaghela’s dodgy dealings after RKV Consultancy vanished in October 2020. His blatant law-breaking triggered a criminal investigation.
Peter Fulham, Chief Investigator of the Insolvency Service’s Criminal Investigation Team, said:
“Directors who abused the Covid-19 financial support schemes, which were provided by the government to support genuine businesses in need of help during the pandemic, have exploited taxpayers.
This sentence reflects the thoroughly dishonest conduct of Rajesh Vaghela and should serve as a warning to others who engaged in this behaviour that they are at risk of criminal prosecutions and could potentially end up in prison.”
Legal Fallout and Repayment
Facing charges under the Companies Act 2006 and Fraud Act 2006, Vaghela pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates Court in February 2023. Though sentenced at Harrow Crown Court in April, his six-month jail term was suspended for 18 months.
He has already repaid the £25,000 loan in full and must stump up £2,150 in court costs. He joins six other company directors convicted of similar Covid loan fraud in the past year, including one sent straight to prison.
