Fraudsters face additional 10 years in jail

HM Revenue & Customs has scooped a record £92.3m in a criminal tax fraud investigation against two members of a 21-strong gang.

Assets including a luxury flat in Kensington worth £4.5m; a house in Harrow worth £2m; a house in Buckinghamshire worth £1.5m; a riverside flat in Battersea worth £500,000; two apartment tower blocks in Dubai worth £80m; and luxury cars have been restrained by the taxman, all of which were purchased by the gang after stealing £37.5m in a ‘missing trader’ VAT tax fraud.

Richard Meadows, assistant director of criminal investigations for HMRC, said: ‘This is the largest ever confiscation order secured by Revenue & Customs at the end of one of our most complicated investigations. I believe it to be one of the largest confiscation orders in the UK to date. The gang stole £37.5m in a VAT tax fraud using the cash to invest in luxury property in the UK and abroad.

‘We are determined to bring to justice the criminals behind this type of fraud and take away the proceeds of their crime. We have worked very closely with the West Midlands Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART) and law enforcement agencies across the world to bring this case to a successful conclusion.’

The two convicted fraudsters are both serving seven-year jail terms, but if they fail to repay the money within two months they face an additional 10 years in jail as well as having to repay the money.

Source - Accountancy Magazine – 12.07.10