Eric Agyeman, a 46-year-old Ghanaian residing in London, received a two-year and two-month prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining £130,000 through the UK government’s Covid-19 Bounce Back Loan scheme. The Old Bailey imposed the sentence on September 9, 2025, after Agyeman pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.
Agyeman submitted three separate applications for DOK Logistics UK Ltd, a company that investigators determined never conducted legitimate business operations. The scheme permitted businesses to secure only one loan, but Agyeman fabricated turnover figures reaching £375,000 to justify multiple claims across different financial institutions.
Court proceedings revealed that Agyeman admitted inventing the financial figures, stating in interviews with investigators that he “took it for granted” and described the numbers as “just something I just made up.” His first application claimed £120,000 turnover for a £30,000 loan, followed by applications citing £275,000 and £375,000 turnover for additional £50,000 loans.
More than £44,000 of the fraudulent funds financed a separate trading operation involving goods shipment to Ghana. Agyeman worked with associates in the West African country who sold imported items and returned commission payments through visitors physically carrying cash back to the UK.
The Insolvency Service investigation uncovered that DOK Logistics UK Ltd was registered in February 2020 but showed no evidence of trading activity. Companies needed to demonstrate active business operations before March 2020 to qualify for Covid support funding under the emergency scheme’s eligibility requirements.
Agyeman received his first loan approval on the scheme’s opening day in May 2020, then secured additional loans from different banks within weeks. His rapid succession of applications across multiple institutions helped him circumvent the single-loan restriction designed to prevent exactly this type of exploitation.
Judge imposed a five-year company directorship ban alongside the prison sentence. David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, criticized Agyeman for “brazenly exploiting a scheme designed to help struggling companies during the pandemic for his own personal gain.”
Authorities are pursuing recovery of the stolen funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The case demonstrates ongoing enforcement efforts targeting Covid relief fraud more than five years after the pandemic’s initial economic disruption prompted emergency business support measures.
The conviction highlights vulnerabilities in rapid emergency funding programs implemented during the Covid-19 crisis. Government investigators continue pursuing cases involving taxpayer-funded support schemes that were designed to sustain legitimate businesses during unprecedented economic challenges.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
