Across the UK, thousands of migrants build businesses, work in professional sectors, and contribute to industries that power the British economy, including healthcare. But alongside legitimate success stories, there are also cases where trust is abused and investors lose millions. At Chijos News, we report on major developments affecting business, finance, and public institutions in the UK with a focus on what they mean for diaspora communities who live, work, and invest here. Transparency and accountability matter, especially when public institutions like the NHS are involved. This case highlights how a fabricated NHS contract led to one of the most significant business fraud investigations involving a medical supply company in recent years.
A company director has been banned from running businesses for 13 years after fabricating a multimillion-pound NHS contract and using forged documents to trick investors into handing over more than £2 million.
Tanveer Khan, 55, convinced lenders and investors that his company was supplying hundreds of high-value Intensive Care Unit beds to the National Health Service under what he claimed was a £9.8 million contract with NHS Wales. The contract, however, never existed.
Investigators later discovered that the entire deal had been fabricated in order to secure funding for his company, Matz Medical Limited, a medical equipment supplier that eventually collapsed into administration with more than £40 million owed to creditors.
Khan’s wife, Tasneem Khan, 51, who also served as a director of the company, has been banned from acting as a company director for 10 years for her role in the deception.
The disqualifications were handed down at the High Court in Manchester on Thursday 12 February following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. Both bans came into force on 5 March and prevent the couple from forming, managing, or promoting companies without court approval.
For investors who believed they were backing a legitimate medical supply contract linked to the NHS, the reality was devastating.
According to investigators, Khan presented himself as the driving force behind a thriving medical supply business that had secured a lucrative order to deliver ICU beds to an NHS Shared Services facility in Pontypool, South Wales.
To support his claims, he produced documentation showing a purchase order worth £9.8 million. The documents suggested Matz Medical Limited was responsible for supplying large numbers of specialist hospital beds to support healthcare services.
But the investigation revealed that the contract was entirely fictitious.
In fact, Matz Medical Limited had been suspended from all NHS Supply Chain frameworks three years earlier, meaning it was no longer authorised to supply equipment through the NHS procurement system.
Despite that suspension, the company continued approaching investors and lenders for funding.
In March 2022, the company secured a £500,000 loan after providing documents claiming the funds would support NHS hospital bed orders. Just two months later, another investor paid £1.68 million to purchase ICU beds tied to the same supposedly lucrative NHS contract.
Those investors later discovered the paperwork had been fabricated.
Insolvency Service investigators found that multiple documents used to secure funding were false. These included a forged NHS purchase order, fake delivery notes claiming more than 1,000 ICU beds had already been supplied, fabricated emails from NHS officials confirming receipt of the equipment, and manipulated bank records designed to make it appear payments had been sent to manufacturers.
The deception was carefully constructed to make the business appear legitimate and profitable.
Both the lender and investor confirmed they received no return on the funds they provided. They also stated they would never have agreed to finance the company if they had known the NHS contract did not exist.
Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, described the scheme as a deliberate and sustained fraud rather than a simple mistake.
He explained that Khan had created an elaborate deception involving forged documents and manipulated financial records in order to convince investors that Matz Medical Limited was fulfilling a major NHS contract.
Clarke added that the conduct represented a calculated attempt to exploit both investors and the reputation of the NHS.
The court also found that Tasneem Khan played a role in enabling the deception. She allowed false documentation to be presented to lenders and investors and signed a personal guarantee connected to one of the company’s loans.
As a result, the court ruled that she should also face a lengthy disqualification from acting as a director.
Matz Medical Limited was incorporated in November 2013 and operated for several years as a supplier of medical equipment. During its early years, the company held agreements within the NHS Supply Chain framework, which allows approved companies to provide products and services to NHS organisations across England and Wales.
However, those arrangements ended in December 2019 after an audit raised serious concerns about the company’s operations.
The NHS Supply Chain investigation found significant issues with the firm’s stock management, storage, and labelling procedures. Officials determined that the problems were severe enough to raise potential patient-safety risks.
As a result, the company was removed from all NHS Supply Chain frameworks and barred from trading within the system.
An NHS Supply Chain spokesperson later confirmed that the decision to remove Matz Medical Limited was made following the 2019 investigation.
The organisation emphasised that patient safety is a top priority and that strict due diligence procedures are used when assessing suppliers. These checks ensure that products meet safety standards and comply with regulatory requirements before they can be supplied to healthcare providers.
Despite being excluded from the NHS supply chain, the company continued seeking funding from investors using the fabricated contract as proof of business activity.
By the time Matz Medical Limited entered administration in October 2022, the financial damage had grown significantly. Creditors were left facing a shortfall of more than £40 million.
Legal proceedings linked to the collapse are still continuing.
The joint administrators have launched a separate claim worth approximately £16.5 million against Tanveer Khan for alleged breaches of his duties as a company director and for causing losses to creditors.
Khan was also declared bankrupt in March 2023. While bankruptcy restrictions normally end after 12 months, his discharge has been suspended indefinitely because he failed to cooperate with the Official Receiver, the court-appointed official responsible for investigating bankruptcies.
Trustees overseeing the bankruptcy are continuing efforts to recover assets, including Khan’s home, in order to repay creditors where possible.
The director disqualification orders against Tanveer and Tasneem Khan will remain in place until 2039 and 2036 respectively.
Cases like this highlight the serious consequences faced by individuals who misuse investor trust and exploit the credibility of public institutions. For regulators and investigators, the outcome also sends a strong message about accountability in the UK’s corporate system.
For investors and business partners, the collapse of Matz Medical Limited serves as a stark reminder of the importance of thorough due diligence, even when deals appear to be connected to trusted organisations such as the NHS.
At a time when healthcare procurement and public trust are under intense scrutiny, the case stands as one of the most significant examples of how fabricated contracts and falsified documents can unravel an entire company and leave millions in losses behind.