Abbas Abo Kifayah (37), of Kingsbury, northwest London, was the sole director of Al-Amir Ltd. The company traded as a grocer and butchers from premises on Forty Avenue, Wembley, in northwest London.

The company, however, went into creditors’ voluntary liquidation in July 2021, which triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators uncovered that Abbas Kifayah successfully secured a £50,000 bounce back loan for Al-Amir Ltd in August 2020. However, Abbas Kifayah exaggerated the company’s turnover to secure a higher value loan than Al-Amir Ltd was entitled to.

Further enquiries found that once the £50,000 loan was placed into the company’s bank account, £43,200 was transferred into Abbas Kifayah’s personal account, while just over £3,000 was transferred to a third party and £2,250 was withdrawn in cash.

When Abbas Kifayah was questioned about these transactions, he stated that £12,000 was used to pay his salary and the remainder for his backdated salary and personal use. However, investigators could not find any evidence that any of the money was used for the benefit of the company.

On 30 June 2022, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a 10-year disqualification undertaking from Abbas Kifayah after he did not dispute that he obtained a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan which the company was not entitled and failed to use the funds received for the economic benefit of Al-Amir Ltd.

Effective from 21 July 2022, Abbas Kifayah is banned from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Al-Amir Ltd’s Liquidator is considering the bounce back loans and recovery of funds.

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Insolvent Investigations, said:

Bounce back loans were available to support viable businesses through the pandemic. Abbas Kifayah, however, abused the government’s support when he inflated his company’s turnover in order to receive the maximum loan before squandering the money rather than use it to benefit his business.

10 years is a significant amount of time to be removed from the corporate arena and Abbas Kifayah’s disqualification should serve as a clear warning that we will take decisive action to protect the public and the taxpayer”.

Abbas Abo Kifayah is from Kingsbury, North-West London and his date of birth is November 1984.

Al-Amir Ltd (Company Reg no. 09398002).

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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Councils across England could soon receive grants to help transform underused and derelict sites.

Under plans announced by the Government today (21 July), the grants would refund the costs of Landfill Tax where it acts as a barrier to redeveloping brownfield and contaminated land.

A four-week Call for Evidence will seek views on the need for, and design of, a scheme to support councils overcome the Landfill Tax burden.

The move – which could happen as early as this Autumn – would help build more homes and businesses on brownfield sites, protecting the environment and public health.

Environment Minister Lord Benyon said:

This grant will help councils build new homes and businesses on derelict eyesore sites – delivering more homes, and regenerating towns and cities.

Landfill tax has done a fantastic job in preventing unnecessary waste – but it’s important it doesn’t act as a barrier to regeneration.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Alan Mak said:

Ensuring that communities across England have the tools to transform their local areas is central to our levelling up mission.

I’m delighted that we’re exploring this bold new scheme which could remove unintended barriers for local authorities who want the best for their communities, whilst protecting our natural environment from contamination.

Landfill tax was introduced in 1996 to encourage a shift away from sending waste to landfill and towards recycling, reuse and recovery. It is currently valued at £98.60 per tonne with a lower rate of £3.15 for the least polluting material.

Landfill tax is widely regarded as being successful, with local authority waste sent to landfill in England falling by 90% since 2000. However, in some cases where remediating contaminated land is not possible without sending waste to landfill, the tax can act as a significant barrier to redevelopment.

By targeting grants in instances where Landfill Tax would otherwise have prevented remediation on commercial terms, any scheme would seek to be cost-neutral.

The Call for Evidence welcomes views on how to ensure a grant scheme would not undermine the waste hierarchy or incentivise illegal dumping. Under plans, applicants would need to demonstrate that use of landfill is reasonably necessary, and steps have been taken to minimise the quantity of waste that will be landfilled.