HM Revenue & Customs has announced that they have arrested a man and woman in Bradford on suspicion of using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to defraud the public purse of £3.4 million.

The arrests are part of a wider fraud investigation by the tax authority into the 35-year-old man and 36-year-old woman, who were also arrested in relation to a suspected “multi-million pound” tax scam.

As a result of the arrest, more than £6 million held in bank accounts controlled by the duo has been frozen by HMRC.

As it is HMRC’s approach to process tax reliefs and claims for funding first and then check eligibility later and recover funds afterwards, this arrest should stand as a warning for others to ensure their furlough claims are accurate.