London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 02, 2025

£4.5bn lost to fraud in three COVID schemes as Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Out scheme recorded 9.5% rate of fraud, HMRC says

£4.5bn lost to fraud in three COVID schemes as Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Out scheme recorded 9.5% rate of fraud, HMRC says

The revelation emerges during a hearing of the Treasury Committee, which hears the HMRC seized a non-fungible token cryptocurrency asset and is "ahead of the game" compared to "most other tax authorities" on the potential use of cryptocurrencies for tax evasion, according to CEO Jim Harra.

The total value of fraud in three COVID-19 schemes totalled £4.5bn, of which the taxpayer is only going to get £1.1bn back, the head of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has told MPs.

Speaking at the Treasury Committee on Wednesday, HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said the £4.5bn was lost to fraud in the furlough, self employed support, and Eat Out to Help Out COVID-19 schemes.

Eat Out to Help Out, which ran for just a month in July 2020 after it was introduced by then chancellor Rishi Sunak, had a particularly high level of fraud of around 9%, higher than any other scheme and "much higher" than would normally be expected in the tax regime generally, Mr Harra said.

The scheme operated on a self-assessment basis which relied on cafes and restaurants declaring correct amounts to HMRC.

As part of efforts to clamp down on fraud, arrests were made, which in turn resulted in "quite a few voluntary disclosures" from restaurants who volunteered that they'd made a mistake in their claim and repaid, Mr Harra said.

"I'm aware of one case where a restaurant claimed to have a record month in sales during Eat Out to Help Out at the same time as they were claiming to have furloughed all of their staff," he said.

"You'd be surprised at what people think we won't join up."


Jim Harra of HMRC

Last month, the windup was announced of the dedicated anti-fraud squad, the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce, set up to recoup billions fraudulently taken from COVID-19 support schemes.

The squad recovered hundreds of millions less than intended as less had been stolen than originally thought.

Mr Harris said the more than 1,250 staff allocated to the taskforce would be redeployed, and while the taskforce will come to an end, compliance work on COVID-19 error and fraud will continue.

HMRC became the first law enforcement agency to seize a non-fungible token cryptocurrency asset, Mr Harra told MPs.

When asked about the potential use of cryptocurrencies for tax evasion, Mr Harra said HMRC is "ahead of the game" compared to "most other tax authorities".

"There is no doubt that they are an asset class along with several others that are used to try and hide the proceeds of evasion from us," Mr Harra said.

"In addition to managing the risks that [crypto] poses to us, we also need to make sure that we get the tax administration right so that we also enable the crypto asset industry to develop in the same way as any other industry."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
×