More than half of the 3,280 company directors banned in Great Britain since 2023 were caught abusing Covid-19 financial support, new figures reveal, proof that the pandemic’s emergency lending schemes are still claiming casualties five years on.
Data released by the Insolvency Service, obtained through Freedom of Information requests by law firm Weightmans, shows that 1,683 disqualifications, 55 per cent of the total, related to the misuse of government-backed financial assistance during the pandemic.
Disqualifications peaked at 1,222 in 2023/24 and have eased since, with 1,021 recorded so far in 2025/26. The overwhelming majority, 3,054, were issued under Section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act, which covers unfit conduct by directors of insolvent or dissolved companies. A further 344 bankruptcy and debt relief restriction cases were recorded over the same period.
The findings echo earlier official figures showing that more than half of directors struck off in the 15 months to mid-2023 were linked to alleged fraud or abuse of Covid loan schemes.
While the number of disqualifications is falling, the money being clawed back is heading in the opposite direction. Over the last three years the Insolvency Service has recovered more than £1.8 million in compensation from disqualified directors. Over half of that total (52 per cent) came in the last year alone, when 123 people were ordered to repay nearly £974,000.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
