Indian-origin businesswoman sentenced to 2 years 3 months for £216,250 Covid loan fraud

Rupali Wagh, a businesswoman based in Wales, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud when she appeared at Cardiff Crown Court in November

Published - July 18, 2026 05:44 pm IST – London

PTI

An Indian-origin woman who pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining five government-backed loans intended to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic has been sentenced to more than two years in prison by a UK court.

Rupali Wagh, 50, applied for a total of £216,250 in Bounce Back Loans for her four companies between May and September 2020 by inflating the turnover of her businesses. She used some of the funds to buy stocks and shares and to pay off personal debts, in clear violation of the loan terms.

She was sentenced to two years and three months' imprisonment in Wales on Friday (July 17, 2026).

"Rupali Wagh systematically targeted a scheme designed to help genuine businesses survive the pandemic," said David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service UK.

"She lied about her turnover, obtained duplicate loans for the same businesses, and used the funds to pay off personal debts and buy stocks and shares. When confronted with the evidence, Wagh initially tried to blame someone else before admitting she had acted alone."

"These are serious crimes and the Insolvency Service remains committed to bringing COVID fraudsters like Wagh to justice no matter how long it takes," he added.

Details of the Fraud

The businesswoman, based in Wales, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud when she appeared at Cardiff Crown Court in November last year and was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday (July 17, 2026).

According to the Insolvency Service, a government agency tackling financial wrongdoing, Wagh's first fraudulent application came in May 2020 when she applied for a £16,250 Bounce Back Loan for One2Four Accounting Limited, a bookkeeping services company she had set up in June 2018.

She declared the company had a turnover of £65,000 and stated the funds would be used wholly for business purposes. "In reality, the company's turnover for the previous calendar year was just £39,000. Within weeks of receiving the funds, Wagh transferred the money into her personal bank account and spent most of it paying off debts and purchasing stocks and shares," the agency stated.

In June 2020, Wagh applied for a £50,000 loan—the maximum allowed under the scheme—for Talensetu UK Limited by claiming the business had a turnover of £218,000. However, dormant accounts filed by the company for the previous year showed it was not trading.

"Within days of receiving the funds, Wagh transferred the entire £50,000 into her personal account and spent it on personal finance and stocks and shares. She also transferred more than £25,000 to an account in India," the Insolvency Service claimed.

She then applied for a second £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for Talensetu UK Limited in July 2020, this time from a different bank, claiming a turnover of £225,000 and falsely declaring that it was the company's only such loan application.

"After receiving the funds in August, Wagh again transferred almost the entire amount into her personal account and spent it on stocks and shares and paying off personal finance. Wagh followed this up with a fourth fraudulent application in August 2020, seeking £50,000 for White Coconut Limited, which traded as an Indian street food outlet in Cardiff," the Insolvency Service said.