The chef, the model and Rishi's missing millions

The last 3 members of a wealth laundering pack which besides stole £10m of UK taxpayers' wealth aft taking vantage of a covid indebtedness scheme, person been sentenced.

It means the BBC tin present archer the afloat communicative of a lawsuit that illustrates conscionable however casual it was to exploit a strategy aimed astatine supporting tiny businesses struggling during the pandemic.

In 2020, the pack utilized scores of bogus companies to instrumentality vantage of the then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Bounce Back Loan scheme.

Any tiny institution could use for up to £50,000 of taxpayers' wealth but, successful the unreserved to prevention the economy, checks connected borrowers were limited.

In fact, the gang's £10m is lone a driblet successful the ocean. The National Audit Office estimates the payer could suffer billions of pounds successful Bounce Back Loan fraud.

The latest convictions - bringing the full fig to 10 - are a bully effect for the Organised Crime Partnership, a associated portion made up of the National Crime Agency and Met Police. But lone £181,600 of the wealth has been recovered and it's believed different offenders progressive successful the fraud are inactive astatine large.

The pack were capable to bargain truthful overmuch wealth due to the fact that agelong earlier covid, its ringleaders had already established a web of bogus companies to launder currency from VAT fraud and different transgression activities, including cause dealing and operation scams.

But erstwhile the pandemic struck, Artem Terzyan, a Russian, and Deivis Grochiatskij from Lithuania, who had been connected the NCA's radar since 2017, abruptly recovered themselves with a reduced income.

As the satellite locked down, criminals were deed conscionable similar morganatic businesses. The brace realised they had to diversify, targeting the UK Government Bounce Back Loans exigency strategy which saw much than 1.5 cardinal loans worthy astir £47bn approved.

The men bagged £10m - they applied for the currency claiming their bogus companies were successful information of going bust.

But they got careless. As good arsenic the indebtedness cash, they continued to launder different money, each nether the noses of the NCA.

So erstwhile officers arrested them again successful November 2020, they recovered overwhelming grounds of wrongdoing.

At their proceedings successful December 2021, the tribunal heard however some men had utilized the wealth to bargain high-end watches, overseas holidays and cars. The remainder of the currency had been transferred instantly abroad.

The NCA's John Coles says usually lone lottery winners could abruptly walk wealth truthful freely.

"These radical won the lottery successful a wholly antithetic way."

The past of 3 trials concluded connected Friday astatine Kingston Crown Court, with the last 3 defendants receiving suspended sentences. It means reporting restrictions tin present beryllium lifted.

Each of Terzyan and Grochiatskij's bogus companies that received Bounce Back Loan wealth successful 2020 had a existent idiosyncratic appointed arsenic a director.

We decided to hint 2 of these directors and find retired if they had immoderate thought wherever the wealth had gone.

Scouring tribunal documents and the files of Companies House, the names of 2 of these bogus firms stood retired - Bart Solution Ltd and JK Consult Ltd. The prosecution said they had been utilized to launder ample amounts of money.

Just implicit £10m was paid into and retired of the accounts of Bart Solution Ltd during 2020. The prosecution told the tribunal astir of this wealth came from Bounce Back Loans.

In court, JK Consult LTD was described arsenic a "shell company" with nary assets. Despite that, millions of pounds was deposited into its accounts and past sent connected to different companies some successful the UK and astir the world.

The Companies House database besides provided america with 2 names - each 1 a manager of the 2 bogus firms. Povilas Bartkevicius was the sanction listed for Bart Solution Ltd - and Yekaterina Kobrina, the manager of JK Consult Ltd.

By examining societal media accounts we learned that Mr Barkevicius is simply a chef, portion Ms Kobrina is simply a exemplary with thousands of followers connected Instagram. Both person links to the superior of Lithuania, Vilnius, truthful we went to effort to way them down.

We enlisted the assistance of BBC colleagues based successful Vilnius, but a scan of section telephone and authorities online directories came up blank, with neither manager listed.

Mr Barkevicius stopped posting connected societal media successful 2021, but his last posts amusement helium worked astatine an costly edifice conscionable extracurricular the capital.

We rang the edifice but were told that helium was not moving there, and they refused to springiness america his location address. They past became suspicious and wanted to cognize wherefore we were searching for him. It felt similar a dormant end.

So we decided to get creative. Taking the idiosyncratic sanction of his Facebook and Instagram accounts, we searched for him elsewhere online - Telegram and Tiktok. But with nary luck.

Then we tried the enactment app Strava, which cyclists, runners and walkers usage to way their progress. Remarkably, we recovered helium had an relationship and that helium had not acceptable it to private.

It showed that successful the summertime of 2022, helium cycled from the aforesaid determination each greeting and returned each evening. We followed this way backmost done the metropolis to a Soviet-era artifact of hundreds of apartments - but which 1 was his?

We past did much digging connected Facebook and discovered helium likes BMWs. In fact, helium posted a representation of his car, asking members of a BMW owners' radical for assistance with a breached rear light. We hunted astir the car parks adjacent the blocks and matched the photograph online to his metallic BMW. Bingo.

The pursuing time we were up successful the acheronian astatine 05:30 - it was beneath zero and determination was snowfall connected the ground. We drove to the artifact and parked adjacent his car, waiting by the communal door.

Too acold to cycle, we assumed helium indispensable present beryllium driving to work. Within minutes, Mr Bartkevicius walked retired of the artifact of flats and we were determination to greet him.

We introduced ourselves and asked if helium knew wherever the wealth successful the bogus institution helium was linked to had gone. He seemed genuinely shocked to spot america and confused by our question. He insisted helium had nary thought helium had been a named manager for Bart Solution Ltd.

He said helium had work accounts of the tribunal lawsuit successful the papers but knew thing astir what the pack were up to earlier then.

"I heard that they were laundering money, but I didn't cognize that they laundered £10m [in] my name," Mr Bartkevicius told us.

He insisted helium was successful the acheronian astir the indebtedness money.

"If I had immoderate money, adjacent 10,000, I wouldn't enactment 2 job," helium said. "I conscionable joined 2 months ago. I was moving each weekends, conscionable to beryllium capable to bargain everything for my wedding."

He maintained helium had nary thought what happened to the money. He has not been interviewed by the constabulary successful Lithuania oregon the NCA successful the UK.

But what of the exemplary Yekaterina Kobrina?

We rang a apparel store successful Vilnius which she utilized to exemplary for, to spot if we could publication her for an assignment. But the proprietor was suspicious and wouldn't help.

Ms Kobrina had posted a batch of photos connected her societal media of holidays successful exotic places, but precise small astir her beingness successful Vilnius.

Bizarrely though, aft searching a full scope of section Facebook groups, 1 of her posts popped up successful a radical afloat of radical aggravated astir the mediocre prime of nutrient disposable successful their section supermarket.

We could spot Ms Kobrina regularly complained astir the authorities of the vegetables, particularly the potatoes.

We traced the store to an country of grimy operation blocks successful the northbound of the city. We spent the adjacent mates of days successful the country trying to hint her. But it was lone aft a tip-off from a section BBC producer, that we spotted her walking down a street.

She seemed amazed erstwhile we approached her, but she shook my hand, laughed and told maine however bully it was to spot me.

We asked her astir the institution she was a named manager of - JK Consult Ltd - and if she knew wherever each the wealth from the Bounce Back Loans had gone.

Ms Kobrina told us: "I don't person immoderate answers, you tin cheque that each my spot is leased, I person immense loans. I don't cognize anything. You should inquire different people. Because I unrecorded successful Vilnius, successful Lithuania.

"No comments, lone with my lawyer." Then she drove away.

We learned aboriginal that she had been interviewed by constabulary successful Lithuania, but had not been charged.

So, contempt our efforts, we were nary person to knowing whether Mr Bartkevicius oregon Ms Kobrina knew thing astir the fraud oregon what their names were being utilized for.

One antheral who is not amazed by this communicative is Mike Craig, who has waged a one-man run to item problems with the loans.

His Twitter illustration has tens of thousands of followers and his "Mr Bounceback" website tries to assistance morganatic firms.

The astir caller authorities study estimated 8% of each Bounce Back Loans could beryllium mislaid to fraud oregon error.

To date, 273 investigations person been launched - involving £160m of bogus loans. Forty-nine radical person been arrested.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the authorities was "bearing down" connected this fraud. A spokesperson said: "We are moving with lenders, instrumentality enforcement, and partners crossed authorities to retrieve fraudulently-obtained loans.  We wholly enactment the Insolvency Service successful penalising those who sought to defraud the strategy for their ain fiscal gain."

Mr Craig says the indebtedness strategy was evidently susceptible from the commencement - requiring nary affordability oregon recognition checks, which was "like a jackpot for a batch of people".

"At the commencement I thought each you request for a Bounce Back Loan is an eligible institution and a pulse. But it turns retired you didn't request either," helium says.

I inquire him wherever that leaves the taxpayer? He replies, "Stuffed for billions of pounds".