A WARRANT for the arrest of a man who allegedly obtained more than £600,000 illegally under the Eat Out To Help Out scheme has been issued after he failed to turn up to court.
On Wednesday morning, Mohammed Ikram, 35, of Keighley, West Yorkshire, was up for cheating the public revenue of £189,208 and 19 counts of fraud, amounting to a total of £434,083, by false representation through the scheme.
Ghazala Ikram, 36, of the same address, also did not appear at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court for her criminal property charge of £189,208. A warrant has been issued for her arrest too.
Both individuals had seen their cases, which were brought forward by the Mersey Cheshire Fraud Unit, adjourned from February 22, 2022.
It is alleged that Mohammed Ikram committed fraud in Keighley by dishonestly making a false representation to obtain thousands of pounds from the Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under the Eat Out to Help Out scheme on 19 occasions. This is contrary to sections 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.
August 7, 16, 21, 27, 30, 31 and September 1, 3 and 6 of 2020 are the nine dates when the claims are said to have been made.
Each of the 19 claims were for different amounts. These ranged from £11,405 to £41,650.
Mohammed Ikram is also alleged to have cheated the public revenue in Keighley between August 7 and September 6 of 2020 for the sum of £189,208 by submitting false online Eat Out To Help Out claims to HMRC.
Between August 13 and September 7 of 2020, Ghazala Ikram allegedly acquired, used, or had possession of the £189,208 in Keighley whilst knowing or suspecting it represented in whole or in part the proceeds of fraud.
This is contrary to sections 329 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Eat Out to Help Out was a UK Government scheme, created by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in July 2020, which was put in place to counter the economic impact of the pandemic on cafes, pubs and restaurants.
The Government subsided food and non-alcoholic drinks at 50% to £10 per person, per order from Monday to Wednesday between August 3 and 31.
There were no limits on how many times an individual could use the discount.
The scheme was found to have led to a rise in Covid-19 infections.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article