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Wednesday, May 13, 2026

UK: Over £5.5bn of Covid support funds lost to fraud or error

UK: Over £5.5bn of Covid support funds lost to fraud or error

HMRC says nearly 9% of furlough scheme was fraudulently claimed or otherwise wrongly paid out last year.
More than £5.5bn of taxpayer money from the government’s coronavirus assistance schemes including furlough, self-employed support and “eat out to help out” was paid out to fraudsters or given out incorrectly.

It emerged on Thursday that £5.2bn paid out by the government under the coronavirus job retention scheme, widely known as furlough, ended up in the hands of fraudsters or was paid in error.
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