A care home recruiter has been banned for seven years after abusing Covid loan schemes during the pandemic.

An investigation by the Insolvency Service found James Ireri, 44, took out £150,000 loans across separate schemes but failed to show the money was used to support his business.

Ireri was the director of Safi Care Ltd which supplied staff to care homes in Surrey between March 2016 and its liquidation in August 2021.

Having taken out a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan in May 2020, which was the maximum allowed for a business, Ireri then applied for a £100,000 loan from a different lender through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan.

Under the rules of the Covid loan schemes, eligible businesses were able to apply for a single loan under one or the other of the schemes, but not both. However, a business could obtain a second loan if the money was used to repay the first in full.

But when Safi Care Ltd went into liquidation in August 2021, the company owed more than £231,500, including the full amount of both loans.

Ireri failed to provide adequate company accounts and investigators were unable to determine whether Safi Care Ltd had ever been eligible to apply for the initial Bounce Back Loan based on the company’s 2019 turnover.

The lack of company books also meant that Ireri was unable to prove he had used the loan money for the economic support of the business.

Investigators discovered that more than £491,300 had been withdrawn from the company bank account between May 2020, when the first loan was received, and July 2021, shortly before Safi Care went into liquidation, including more than £80,000 for personal spending and around £93,900 of transfers into Ireri’s personal bank accounts.

Neil North, deputy head of investigation at the Insolvency Service, said: “Bounce Back Loans and Covid Business Interruption Loans were designed to provide vital support for viable businesses through the pandemic. James Ireri abused not one, but two of these schemes.

“His ban should serve as a warning to other directors who misuse financial support available to companies that the Insolvency Service is able to bring your actions to account and remove you from the corporate arena.”