It has been reported that up to £3.5bn of the £35.4bn paid out under the furlough scheme has been paid in error either by fraudulent claims and / mistakes made by HMRC or claimants.

In addition, the Public Accounts Committee estimates that an additional £30bn was lost in 2019 due to tax payer fraud and / or error.

HMRC maintain that they will not pursue those that have claimed in error, but they are concentrating on those cases where they suspect the claimants have abused or fraudulently claimed and that there are 27,00 cases being investigated.

Those suspecting that an employer has committed fraud through the furlough scheme can report it to HMRC by completing a form on their website.

For more information on bankruptcy, liquidation, administration and all the other insolvency procedures, or to take advantage of our free consultation and business health check, please telephone Stella Flemmings on 01377 257788, 01724 230060 or 01904 520116 and she will make you an appointment with one of our insolvency professionals at our Driffield, East Yorkshire, Scunthorpe, North East Lincolnshire or York, North Yorkshire offices.  Meetings can be held virtually or in any of our offices whilst observing the socially distancing guidelines.