A Collier Row electrician who fraudulently used Covid loans to buy designer clothing has been ordered to repay more than £56,000 - or face jail.

Stanislav Genadiev, of Faircross Avenue, submitted false statements to obtain two bounce back loans worth a combined £100,000 in 2020.

The money was intended to support businesses during the pandemic.

But Genadiev used the funds to pay for groceries, clear his personal debts and even buy designer clothing.

The 37-year-old was ordered to repay £56,948 at a confiscation hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday (September 9).

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Alexander Grierson, head of asset recovery at the Insolvency Service, said: "Stanislav Genadiev declared in applying for the two loans that he would use the funds for the economic benefit of his business.

"Instead, he spent the money clearing his own personal debts, paying for everyday items such as groceries, and even buying himself designer clothing.

"This was not how the loans were supposed to be used, and the Insolvency Service takes a zero-tolerance approach to those who so blatantly steal from the public purse."

Stanislav Genadiev, of Faircross Avenue, submitted false statements to get Covid bounce back loans (Image: Google Maps)

Genadiev first applied for a £50,000 loan in July 2020, claiming his K and S Installation Ltd electrician business had a turnover of £200,000 in 2019.

Accounts for the company, seen by the Insolvency Service, revealed the real turnover was closer to £85,000.

In a statement to investigators, Genadiev said he used the funds to pay off his personal debts, which were unrelated to his business.

Money from the account was also used for groceries and clothing.

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Genadiev made a second fraudulent £50,000 application in September 2020, this time claiming his G and S Perfumes Ltd business had an estimated turnover of £200,000.

The business, in fact, was not trading by March 2020.

Genadiev has been given three months to pay the money or face 18 months in prison.

He would still owe the full amount ordered if he failed to comply and was sent to prison.

If Insolvency Service investigators uncover more assets Genadiev has or obtains in the future, he will have to pay the remaining amount he fraudulently secured.