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BTCC / BTCC Square / Global Cryptocurrency /
UK Businessman Sentenced for Misusing COVID Loan on Crypto and Gambling

UK Businessman Sentenced for Misusing COVID Loan on Crypto and Gambling

Author:
Global Cryptocurrency
Published:
2025-10-10 15:55:01
17
1
BTCCSquare news:

Haralambos Ioannou, a 49-year-old director of Opti-Bond (GB) Ltd, received a 22-month suspended sentence for diverting £100,000 in COVID Bounce Back loans to personal expenditures, including cryptocurrency investments and gambling. The Southwark Crown Court ordered restitution of £40,000 and a five-year director disqualification.

Ioannou fraudulently obtained two £50,000 loans in June 2020, initially claiming legitimate business needs for his glazing firm. While the first tranche was used properly, the second funded £20,000 in crypto purchases, gambling sprees, and payments to his ex-wife. The Insolvency Service uncovered the scheme through forensic accounting of his transactions.

|Square

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