Labour Councillor Who 'Scammed Government For £10k Covid Cash' Appeared In Court Charged With Fraud
Councillor Harman Banger becomes at least the 20th Labour politician to be charged, imprisoned, or placed under investigation in the past six months alone.
Labour councillor Banger, who represents East Park on Wolverhampton Council, has resigned from his role as the city's economy cabinet member.
Banger and his wife, Neena Kumari, both pleaded not guilty to a charge of committing fraud by dishonestly making a false representation to snag £10,000 under the UK Government Covid-19 Small Business Scheme.
He was arrested by West Midlands Police in June 'on suspicion of fraud offences' and was released pending a full probe. He has also been administratively suspended from the Labour group in the city pending the outcome of an internal party investigation.
Bangor is just one of a growing number of Labour politicians to find himself in hot water in the past six months, with Labour Councillors, mayors and MPs being charged or investigated for offences ranging from fraud to paedophilia.
The pair will stand trial at Walsall Magistrates Court on October 18th.
Harman Banger and wife Neena Kumari, of Bilston Road, Wolverhampton, had been found guilty of fraud by false representation in December 2022. The charge stemmed from an application for a £10,000 small business loan grant to run a takeaway site during the pandemic.
However, a judge at Birmingham Crown Court overturned the conviction on in 2023.
Banger, 41, who had sat on Wolverhampton City Council, was suspended by Labour when allegations emerged. He claimed after the verdict was overturned he had been victim to a "serious miscarriage of justice".
The conviction related to a grant applied for by Mrs Kumari in April 2020 for Pizza Plus, a firm owned by both.