Man convicted of defrauding Leeds City Council out of £710,000 in Covid grants
The 47 year old claimed grants meant to support small businesses - using the addresses of branches of Greggs
Last updated 12th Feb 2025
A man has been convicted of defrauding Leeds City Council out of £710,000 of grants meant to support small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
47 year old Aftab Baig, of Glasgow, claimed grants for 32 properties, which were all branches of Greggs.
His applications to the Small Business Grant Fund came as the country was at the height of the pandemic and in lockdown.
He first contacted Leeds City Council pretending to be involved with the company, managing to get details of business rates numbers.
He then used this information to claim money on behalf of the bakery chain, which he has never had any involvement with.
Baig was arrested in July 2020, with police finding cash and forged documents at his home.
Leeds Crown Court found him guilty of three counts of fraud earlier today and he'll be sentenced at a later date.
Kelly Ward from the Crown Prosecution Service said:
“Baig took advantage of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic in 2020 to defraud the council out of taxpayers money.
“Those who cheat the public purse are stealing funds which should rightly go towards services and the community, or in this case towards supporting small businesses through an extremely challenging time.
“We will not hesitate to work together with investigators such as NATIS to bring offenders like Baig to justice.
“We will also be starting proceedings to recover any assets resulting from this criminality.”