The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) is a national team that investigates and prosecutes loan sharks. A loan shark is someone who lends money without the correct authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The IMLT provides emotional and practical support to victims and survivors of illegal money lending.  

We recently held a national short story competition to raise awareness of the dangers of loan sharks and are pleased to share one of the winning entries with you today.

This story is by Maria Perruzza from Staffordshire, who drew on her career in community safety to write “Don’t Borrow from Baz”. Her tale is about a shady character who is well known in the community as being a money lender.