A taxi driver who was jailed after using a Government-backed Covid loan to buy a pizza oven and a flat in Turkey has been ordered to repay more than £60,000. Murat Dogantekin fraudulently secured £100,000 in Bounce Back Loans by inflating his business turnover by more than £350,000, the Insolvency Service said.
Investigators found the 52-year-old spent £48,000 on a two-bedroomed property in Turkey, £2,840 on a 2017 Peugeot and £800 on a pizza oven. Dogantekin was jailed for two years and seven months in February 2025. On Tuesday (8 September), a confiscation order of £63,790 was made against him at Exeter Crown Court.
How the fraud was carried out
The court heard how the fraudster secured two Bounce Back Loans from separate banks in May and June 2020. He claimed his annual turnover was £200,000 and £205,000 for two separate taxi businesses, both in his own name. According to the Insolvency Service, Dogantekin failed to provide any evidence to support his claims, and investigators found that the second business – called Ola Taxis – was actually named after one of his clients.
It said that this was done to distinguish it from his first business and make it appear that he was eligible for a second loan when he was not. For the tax year ending in April 2020, the driver had declared earnings of just £16,500, meaning he overstated his turnover by £388,500 in the two applications. His actual income may have entitled him to one loan of £4,125, the service said, and his claim meant he received an additional £95,875.
Investigation and court order
Dogantekin was declared bankrupt in November 2021 and no repayments to loans were made before then. The service said he was interviewed and provided some limited documentation, but subsequently ignored 11 attempts to contact him and secure specific records during a six-month period. He also failed to attend an interview under caution, it added.
Alexander Grierson, Head of Asset Recovery at the Insolvency Service, said: "Bounce Back Loans were designed to support small and medium-sized businesses through the pandemic. They were not handed out to taxi drivers to spend on properties and pizza ovens."
Mr Grierson continued: "Murat Dogantekin cynically exploited the scheme and our investigations ensured he was jailed for his fraudulent actions. The Insolvency Service will continue to pursue Covid fraudsters and use every available power to recover money obtained through criminality."
Dogantekin, of Exeter, has been given three months to repay the funds, and if he fails to do so, could face a further five years in prison. The order reflects the value of assets identified by investigators as being available to Dogantekin, the service said.
