A Cardiff businesswoman has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after fraudulently obtaining £216,250 through the United Kingdom government’s Covid-19 Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Rupali Wagh, 50, secured the loans between May and September 2020 by submitting five fraudulent applications across four companies, according to the UK’s Insolvency Service.
Investigators said she inflated the turnover of her businesses, obtained duplicate loans for companies that had already received funding, and used much of the money to settle personal debts and purchase stocks and shares.
Wagh pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud at Cardiff Crown Court in November 2025 and was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on July 17, 2026.
The Insolvency Service said her first fraudulent application was for One2Four Accounting Ltd, where she claimed the company had a turnover of £65,000, despite its actual turnover being £39,000. Authorities said she later transferred the loan into her personal account and spent most of it on debts and investments.
She also secured two separate £50,000 loans for Talensetu UK Ltd by making false declarations about the company’s turnover and claiming each application was its only request under the scheme, despite the business having filed dormant accounts during the relevant period.
Investigators further alleged that Wagh obtained another fraudulent loan for White Coconut Ltd after falsely declaring it had not previously received funding, even though the company had already secured an £18,000 Bounce Back Loan months earlier.
Her fifth application involved Indian Canteen Ltd, where she allegedly overstated the company’s turnover before transferring part of the loan proceeds to another business.
The Insolvency Service said Wagh initially attempted to blame another person for one of the applications before admitting she acted alone. She also acknowledged using the funds to repay personal credit card debts and loans, claiming she believed doing so would help her businesses.
Chief Investigator David Snasdell said Wagh deliberately exploited a scheme created to support genuine businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that authorities remain committed to prosecuting fraud involving the programme.
The Insolvency Service said it is pursuing the recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.