HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make arrests over alleged “Eat Out to Help Out” Fraud

It has been reported that the HMRC have made their first arrests on suspicion of fraud linked to the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme.

Three arrests were made in  London on Tuesday,  upon suspicion of cheating the public revenue and fraud by false representation.

The Eat Out to Help Out scheme ran throughout August and gave diners a government-backed 50% discount on food and soft drinks of up to £10 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, an estimated 100 million meals were sold under the scheme.

The Deputy director of HMRC’s Fraud investigation service Kath Doyle said of the investigations:

“This is taxpayers' money and any claim that proves to be fraudulent limits our ability to support people and deprives public services of essential funding….The vast majority of businesses will have used Eat Out to Help Out responsibly but we will not hesitate to act where we suspect abuse of the scheme,”

The HMRC are highlighting to businesses which have used the scheme, a repayment facility if:

• you’ve realised that you have been overpaid or were not eligible.
• you do not need the money and want to voluntarily pay it back.

Further information is available on the Gov.uk Website here.