A Glasgow man defrauded the council of £710k claiming Covid-19 loans for 32 Greggs branches, exploiting pandemic relief funds.
Aftab Baig, 47, made false grant claims. He used 32 Greggs branches for these claims and put the money into his business account. This happened during the pandemic lockdown when small businesses were struggling.
The money came from a government fund, the Small Business Grant Fund. This fund helped firms with business rates relief.
In May 2020, Baig contacted Leeds Council. He pretended to be a Greggs property manager and asked for Leeds branches’ rates numbers, saying lockdown stopped his access. Baig had no connection to Greggs and used the details to claim rates relief, getting £710,000 in his business account.
In May 2020, the council saw the claims were false and froze Baig’s account. Most of the money went back to the council, but over £90,000 was still missing.
The National Investigation Service led the probe, and Police Scotland arrested Baig in Glasgow in July 2020. Police found £16,000 cash in Baig’s house, along with forged remittance slips. He planned to get back the frozen money with them.
Baig was found guilty of three fraud counts on February 12, 2025, at Leeds Crown Court. The Crown Prosecution Service stated Baig exploited the pandemic, defrauding the council of public funds.
The funds should have aided small businesses. Public money is meant for services and community needs. They will bring offenders like Baig to justice and recover any assets from his crime.