HMRC Uncovers Untaxed Money in Grave

A businessman planned to leave £140,000 in his aunt’s grave for 20 years to avoid tax.

Tax inspectors were tipped off and obtained permission from the priest to recover their £50,000 share. The unnamed man was going to leave the money in the grave up to the time limit for tax investigations, reported The Sun.

Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax, said: “Tax evasion isn’t a victimless crime. But we’re getting better at catching cheats. It’s not worth the risk.”

It was disclosed in April that the HM Revenue & Customs has paid informers £437,000 in return for tip-offs since 2007, and prosecutes around 200 people a year for tax evasion.

Investigators announced a crackdown on middle-class professionals earlier this year, with doctors already under greater scrutiny.

HMRC Make £92.3m Confiscation Order

The gang bought luxury houses in London, high performance cars, and built blocks of flats in Dubai after stealing £37.5 million in a ‘missing trader’ VAT tax fraud. The two men, who are currently serving seven year jail terms, will face a further ten years in prison each if they fail to abide by the order.

Richard Meadows, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation 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 £37.5 million 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.”

Syed Ahmed of Buckinghamshire and Shakeel Ahmad of Middlesex, both currently serving seven year jail terms, were each ordered to repay £92.3 million within two months or face an additional ten years in jail as well as still having to repay the money.

The judge stated the joint minimum payable by both defendants is £92.3 million.

Officers have restrained high value assets including:

• A luxury flat in Knightsbridge worth £4.5 million
• A house in Harrow worth £2 million
• A house in Buckinghamshire worth £1.5 million
• A riverside flat in Battersea worth £500,000
• Two apartment tower blocks in Dubai worth £80 million
• High performance motorcars including a Ferrari 360 Modena convertible and a Mercedes 500CL

They also gave ‘tainted gifts’ to their families including top of the range designer clothing, a Range Rover and cash totalling around £1 million.

His Honour Lord Justice Richard Flaux said:

“You are both complete liars and devious. You are adept at using others in an attempt to make your activities legitimate, creating a smokescreen to hide the value of your assets and conceal this from HMRC.”

Background

Investigations began in April 2002 into the ‘missing trader’ fraud, involving the dishonest manipulation of the VAT system through the import and export of computer processing units (CPUs). The gang used highly complex chains of VAT registered companies both here and abroad to steal £37.5 million.

The final defendant of the 21 strong crime gang was sentenced last month and ended one of the most complex investigations undertaken by HMRC which included seven trials and retrials. In total the gang were jailed for 74 years.

The conspiracy involved the import of CPUs mainly from Ireland VAT free. The goods would then be sold on more cheaply, but with VAT added, through a chain of companies each involved in the plot and sham invoices would be issued. Once the goods had been sold on a number of times they would be exported back to the EU. The exporter would then claim a VAT credit from HMRC for the VAT paid on the purchase of the goods.

The gang would divide the dishonest profits of the fraud and launder them through various bank accounts both in the UK and abroad. The account holders would then withdraw the bulk of the cash and were paid a commission for their dishonest service. Some of the money is believed to have been invested in a third a tonne of gold bullion, substantial property in Dubai and a luxury flat near Harrods.