A man, who was arrested in 2018 following a tax investigation, has been ordered to repay £5.5m within three months or face a 10-year prison sentence.
The man was arrested in 2018 after he was found to have falsely taken £5,952,339 in Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and VAT, between May 2008 and May 2016.
The man was found to have multiple bank accounts, around 6 of which were found overseas in the United Arab Emirates. This was along with numerous properties in the North East of England, as well as £35,000 in cash.
Investigators found forged invoices and false VAT returns in which the man had made fraudulent claims for £1,055,294. He was also charged on one count of cheating the public revenue to the amount of £4,897,045.
The original investigation, which led to the arrest in 2018, discovered the man failed to pay the correct amount in staff deductions and falsified VAT repayments for the three companies in which he owned.
Following the initial tax investigation, which lead to the arrest in 2018, a financial investigation was launched which ordered the man to repay £5,470,258.
HMRC have ordered the man to repay £5.5m or face 10 years in prison. A spokesperson for the North East Regional Economic Crime Unit has said ‘For some offenders prison might not seem like much of a deterrent if they have a nice home and a healthy bank balance to return to, which is why we carry out comprehensive investigations to ensure these people are stripped of criminal assets and shown in no uncertain terms that crime doesn’t pay.’
How we can help with tax investigations
At STS (Europe) we have a team of Tax Investigations specialists who can provide support during HMRC investigations. We carry out a detailed forensic analysis of evidence to establish facts, with the aim of determining the correct tax liabilities incurred by the client.
If you have been approached by HMRC in relation to your tax affairs, contact us to find out how our experts can help you.
Call us on 01704 891676
Email us at info@sptaxeurope.co.uk
Send us a message via our contact page.
