Director in fraud

Manchester Crown Court has sentenced a director of a sub-prime loan company to seven-and-a-half years in prison in his absence, after he fled the jurisdiction before the trial.

Waheed Luqman, who was found guilty of fraud and false accounting, was given seven-and-a-half years for conspiracy to defraud and four-and-a-half years for each of the two counts of conspiracy to falsely account. All three sentences are concurrent.

He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 15 years and has been ordered to pay costs to the SFO of £250,000.

The 39-year-old was a director of Lexi Holdings, a property finance company based in Manchester and at some time with a London office. The company went into administration in 2006 with debts of over £100m.

According to the Serious Fraud Office, he conspired with other members of the Luqman family, principally his brother Shaid, to defraud creditors, which included the company’s main lender, Barclays Bank, between 2000 and 2006. The business, initially named Pearl Holdings (Europe) Limited, was established by Shaid Luqman in 2000 with funding from Barclays Bank. Renamed Lexi Holdings in 2004, it provided finance to individuals and companies wanting to invest in property.

Loans, commonly known as ‘bridging loans’ were facilitated through Lexi Holdings at short notice to secure a property, bridging a gap until the borrower could acquire long-term finance.

The events took place over a period when property prices and financial markets were more buoyant than they currently are and when banks were more ready to lend.

Banks, mostly Barclays, provided Lexi Holdings with large amounts of capital over the period on the basis that the business was a highly regarded and successful enterprise making loans available to property developers who might not be able to obtain loans immediately from the banks. Lexi entered into a Revolving Credit Facility Agreement with Barclays to draw down the required amounts for each transaction and though the bank carried out checks on the running of the agreement, there was a great deal of trust involved, the SFO said in a statement.

Monies obtained by Lexi under the agreement were diverted and recycled through various bank accounts held in different names and trading entities which were hidden from the auditors and from Barclays and later a syndicate of banks of which Barclays was the senior partner.

They were also hidden from Lexi’s own internal accountants as the hidden accounts were controlled by a closed circle. The company’s accounts were also doctored to create a false picture of the company’s profitability and creditworthiness.

Money was drained out of the company to family members in Pakistan and included large sums to the brothers’ father, Mohammed Luqman.

Waheed Luqman was tried in absentia following abscondment when charges were brought in August 2011. He is thought to be in Pakistan.

He was also found guilty of one common law charge of conspiracy to defraud creditors of Pearl Holdings (Europe) Ltd, later known as Lexi Holdings and two charges of conspiracy to falsely account.

His brother, Shaid Luqman, the main perpetrator of the fraud, fled the jurisdiction in June 2011 before he could be charged and is also believed to be in Pakistan.

An alleged accomplice, charged with money laundering offences, was acquitted.

Accountant defrauded football club

A non-league football club’s former accountant has pleaded guilty to stealing more than £70,000 from his employer.

Philip Haslam of Weldbank Lane, Chorley - who had previously denied three counts of theft and two counts of burglary - entered his plea at Preston Crown Court on Friday.

The hat trick of theft offences occurred when Haslam was at Chorley Football Club, and included stealing £40,901 from the club – currently managed by former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry Flitcroft - between March and September 2011.

The other charges involve £22,221 relating to Chorley Sporting Club, and £6,000 from Chorley FC’s Black and White draw.

The 26-year-old also confessed to trespassing at Chorley FC’s offices between September 3 and 6, 2011, and stealing £300.

He employed the same method between September 5 and 8, 2011, to walk off with a further £1,000.

Haslam was released on conditional bail until sentencing.

He was arrested in September 2011 after the club unearthed financial irregularities.

Accountant booted out of ICAEW

An accountant has been booted out of the ICAEW for failing to pay the Insolvency Service (IS) nearly £90,000.

A tribunal of the ICAEW’s disciplinary committee made the decision when it heard how William Evan Price of Pontypool - as liquidator of TG Beddoe & Sons (Engineers) Ltd - failed to pay £88,714 to the Insolvency Service.

The disciplinary committee ruled that Price had failed to comply with Regulation 5 of the Insolvency Regulations 1994 without any justifiable reason, had caused significant loss to third parties and that his actions amounted to serious professional misconduct and had brought the ICAEW into disrepute.

In a letter to the Insolvency Service, Price said that he had always maintained that he disbursed the monies to meet 'liquidation liabilities and so should not have been paid to the Insolvency Service' and that the monies were paid 'to cover costs and are all accounted for'.

Price even insisted he was not a member of the ICAEW, even though he was, the tribunal heard.

Despite Price’s previous clean disciplinary record, the committee found that 'the defendant has failed to account to the Insolvency Service for a significant sum of money which represented nearly 50% of the assets of the liquidation. He did so without any justifiable or lawful reason. This was serious professional misconduct.

'Members of ICAEW are trusted by many public bodies, including the Insolvency Service to treat money put into their care in accordance with the law and regulations. A failure to treat money in this way, for which the defendant has been found liable, is to discredit the profession as well as to damage the Insolvency Service and the creditors of any liquidation.’

Price was also ordered to pay costs of £3,450.

Accountant fraud

A Surrey accountant who fiddled his VAT and pocketed the tax and national insurance contributions paid by his staff has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Chartered accountant Peter Rose, 65, of Tadworth - who previously ran Mayfair Associates (Surrey) Ltd, offering pensions advice, accountancy and book keeping services - used a redundant VAT number to invoice his clients. But he held back £150,000 in VAT from HMRC, paid over by customers.

Rose went further - defrauding his own staff over a nine year period by keeping £150,000 in Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and national insurance contributions he had deducted from their salaries. He also failed to pay £65,000 income tax or national insurance on his own earnings

John Pointing, assistant director for Criminal Investigation at HMRC, said: ‘Peter Rose conned his clients and his own staff by persistently and deliberately committing fraud. He may have thought his professional skills made his crimes undetectable, but he was wrong.

‘HMRC is increasing its resources and efforts to track down and investigate tax fraud. We will not hesitate to seek out these fraudsters – we owe it to the honest and law-abiding to do so.’

Rose was arrested by HMRC officers in July 2012. He admitted the offences at a previous hearing and appeared at Guildford Crown Court.

VAT fraud

Hairdresser jailed for brush with VAT crime

21/12/12

Penny Sukhraj

A tax fraudster – who stole more than £147,000 with his daughter, using an innocent businessman’s details to reclaim VAT – has been caught and jailed after being on the run and abandoning his daughter to face the law alone.

The pair also pocketed Pay As You Earn (PAYE) contributions from their employees before John Littleboy absconded.

Littleboy and his daughter ran two hairdressing salons, both called Headcandi, from premises in Gidea Park and Chafford Hundred in Grays, Essex.

Littleboy was the main organiser of the fraud and, together with his daughter Katy, stole the identity of a legitimate businessman.

Using the businessman’s details, they submitted bogus claims for refunds of VAT for their hairdressing business. Their criminal activity included keeping tax and National Insurance deducted from the wages of their staff instead of paying it to HMRC.

HMRC finally arrested Littleboy on Monday 17 December 2012 – he’s been handed a two-year prison sentence.

Peter Millroy, assistant director of HMRC Criminal Investigation, said: ‘John Littleboy tried to avoid his punishment by absconding, but he has been caught. He organised a catalogue of criminal activity along with his daughter, Katy Littleboy. Not only did they steal from their employees but also used the identity of an innocent businessman to commit a sophisticated tax fraud purely for their own greed.

‘Stealing over £147,000 in tax destined to pay for public services is not acceptable. If you know of anyone committing tax fraud please tell us by calling our Hotline, 0800 59 5000.’

In handing down sentencing, judge Owen-Jones said: ‘This was a skilful, scheming, well-planned and determined operation to claim large repayments of VAT by creating invoices to defraud HMRC. This impacts on every member of the general public.’

LIBOR rigging

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has imposed its biggest ever fine of £160m on UBS for misconduct relating to the fixing of Libor and Euribor rates.

It said the Swiss bank’s misconduct “was extensive and widespread”. At least 2,000 requests for inappropriate submissions to Libor were documented together with an unquantifiable number of oral requests.

The fine dwarfs the £59m penalty slapped on Barclays by the FSA in June for manipulating Libor – a scandal that led to the resignation of its chief executive Bob Diamond.

The City regulator said manipulation by UBS was also discussed in internal open chat forums and group emails, and was widely known. At least 45 individuals including traders, managers and senior managers were involved in, or aware of, the practice of attempting to influence submissions.

The FSA said the routine and widespread manipulation of submissions was not detected by the bank’s compliance or by group internal audit teams, which undertook five audits of the relevant business area during the relevant period.

Even when the trading and submitting roles were split in Autumn 2009, UBS’s systems and controls did not prevent traders from camouflaging their requests as “market colour”.

Given the widespread and routine nature of the requests to change Libor and Euribor and the nature of the control failures, the FSA found that every Libor and Euribor submission, in currencies and tenors in which UBS traded during the relevant period, was at risk of having been improperly influenced to benefit derivatives trading positions.

Tracey McDermott, FSA director of enforcement and financial crime, said:

‘The findings we have set out in our notice today do not make for pretty reading. The integrity of benchmarks such as Libor and Euribor are of fundamental importance to both UK and international financial markets. UBS traders and managers ignored this.’

‘UBS's misconduct was all the more serious because of the orchestrated attempts to manipulate the Japanese yen Libor submissions of other banks, as well as its own, and the collusion with interdealer brokers and other panel banks in co-ordinated efforts to manipulate the fix.’

The FSA said that between 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2010, the bank’s misconduct included collusion with interdealer brokers in co-ordinated attempts to influence Japanese Yen Libor submissions made by other panel banks.

It also found that corrupt brokerage payments were made to reward brokers for their efforts to manipulate the Libor submissions of panel banks.

Other illicit acts included adopting Libor submissions directives whose primary purpose was to protect the bank’s reputation by avoiding negative media attention about its submissions and speculation about its creditworthiness.

The misconduct occurred in various locations around the world including Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

Crooked financial controller jailed

A financial controller has been jailed after plundering £90,000 from luxury UK property developers Candy and Candy.

Southwark Crown Court heard how Ross Smith - a ‘work in progress controller’ - stole the money over a two-and-a-half year period to fund a luxury lifestyle and pay off his debts and rent arrears.

The 26-year-old was able to access money in client accounts set up to renovate various properties including London’s multi-million pound One Hyde Park development – currently the country’s most expensive address.

The court heard how he had changed invoices in order to redirect funds into his own personal bank account as well as using his colleagues’ company credit cards to spend over £90.000.

Smith, who earned £25,000 a year, later told police how ‘easy’ it was to fleece the brothers due to their ‘lax’ grip on the finances.

The court heard that while Smith had repaid about £26,000 into the Candy & Candy client accounts he had stolen from, some £65,000 was still outstanding.

On sentencing him to a two-year prison term, Judge David Higgins said: ‘You stole far more than was required to discharge your debts. In essence you stooped to sustained criminal wrongdoing to fund a lifestyle you could not otherwise afford. You did so in my judgement in a breach of the highest degree of trust.

‘Your behaviour was routinely deplorable and deeply anti-social and if you choose to behave in this way then you must of course accept the consequences.’

While Smith began working for the brothers in 2008, his crimes were only unearthed when he left the job in March 2012 after a routine check spotted the fraud.

Smith duly admitted the offences and sent a letter of apology to Nick Candy.

The Brixton resident pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Pub disqualification

Last orders for pub empire boss in £1m tax debt rap

14/12/12

Chris Warmoll

Frederick Robert Ward, the director of CT (2010) Limited (formerly Churchill Taverns Limited), which ran five pubs in Northamptonshire, has been disqualified from acting as a director for four years for not paying tax.

The disqualification follows an investigation by The Insolvency Service.

Ward, 59, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, has given an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, that he will not act as a director of a limited company until 14 December 2016.

CT (2010) Limited – CT – signed a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with its creditors, including HMRC in November 2008, setting out a plan to make contributions totalling £172,000 over 5 years. However, CT contributed just £6,000 under the CVA before the CVA was terminated in November 2010.

The CVA stipulated that CT would be responsible for the payment of any taxation liabilities after the approval of the CVA, but the company paid just £64,050 to HMRC, before it went into administration on 8 October 2010 owing £988,893 to HMRC.

After administration, CT’s assets, including its five pubs were sold to Clementines Tavern Ltd (Clementines),of which Ward was a director. Clementines entered into administration on 9 August 2012. The five pubs still trading are the Olde Victoria in Burton Latimer, Kettering; the Kings Head, in Spratton, Northampton; the Sun Inn, Kislingbury, Northampton; the Plume of Feathers, Weedon, Daventry; and Rafferty’s, Wellingborough, Northants.

Commenting on the disqualification, Mark Bruce, a chief examiner at The Insolvency Service said: ‘Directors who fail to pay taxes to the Crown after they have taken the money from the public, whether from customers or employees, should not expect to get away with it. This is cheating the system by gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors at the public’s expense and we will put a stop to it.

‘Other directors tempted to follow this path should remember that if they run a business in a way that is detrimental to either its customers or its creditors they will lose the protection afforded by limited liability. The Insolvency Service will investigate them and seek to remove them from the business environment.’

Struck off director

The ICAEW has struck off an ex Luton Town and Spurs finance director after he was disqualified by the High Court from being a company director.

The case centred on three “areas of concern” that took place between July 2004 and February 2007 when Derek Peter of Priory Close, Totteridge, London, was finance chief at the Hatters.

The ICAEW disciplinary hearing heard that the High Court found that between 2004 and 2007 he contributed towards Luton Town breaching rules and regulations relating to payments to football agents.

He caused Luton Town to trade at the risk, and "ultimate detriment" to HMRC – which saw the taxman owed £3.5m by the time of his resignation in 2007. He also caused the club to enter a transaction that was to the detriment of creditors and to the benefit of a connected entity (of which he was also a director).

The FA found him guilty of misconduct. Luton Town entered administration in November 2007.

In its disciplinary orders and regulatory decisions, published on 5 December, the ICAEW said:

‘The tribunal noted that the sums owed to HMRC were considerable and there had been a failure to make payments over an extended period of time. As the finance director Mr Peters was clearly partially responsible for this.’

‘In addition, he had clearly flouted the FA rules despite being an experienced accountant working in this field. The tribunal considered that the Newmafruit matter indicated a deliberate intention on the defendant’s part to ignore the obvious conflict of interest. All these matters were aggravating factors.’

Peter telephoned the case manager and said that he felt that the judgment had overlooked all the defences he and his co-directors had put forward. He also indicated that he was not minded to enter into any further correspondence.

The tribunal recommended that any application for re-admission not be considered before 4 September 2018.

HMRC Fraud

A tax fraud, involving an HMRC insider, has been closed with those participating in the scam ordered to pay back their illicit gains or face longer jail terms.

Michael Kitchen, 47, a former HMRC administrative officer, diverted £1.2m worth of tax payments to his 13 co-defendant friends through 158 separate payments.

Kitchen and seven others were jailed for a total of 18.5 years, with the former taxman employee ordered to pay back the most (£175,000) or face a further two years behind bars.

Ian Horridge, Internal Governance, HMRC, said:

‘Kitchen abused his position of trust in a sophisticated and sustained fraud aimed at paying the tax liabilities of his friends and associates. HMRC is committed to the highest level of integrity and we take the strongest possible action against the tiny minority who let us all down by falling short of those standards. We also use confiscations to ensure that people don’t benefit financially from their criminal activity. The confiscation orders required all the defendants to pay back their ill-gotten gains, or face jail and still owe the money.’

Kitchen, who was employed to allocate payments to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) accounts of businesses, was dismissed in 2009, following an internal investigation. All 14 of the defendants were convicted and sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court.

MPs expenses

Just two years after the MPs expenses scandal, new evidence has emerged that politicians are still abusing the system.

Over 30 MPs have been revealed to be claiming rent for their second homes on expenses while letting out property nearby, a Channel 4 Dispatches probe has revealed.

Among the MPs are former Cabinet ministers who are claiming up to £20,000 in annual expenses for rent, while receiving money from properties often bought and refurbished with funds bankrolled by hard-pressed taxpayer.

In October, news emerged that 27 MPs were letting out their second homes while charging the taxpayer for renting another property.

Dispatches has now uncovered a further five — a trio of MPs engaged in the practice in the capital and a further brace renting and letting properties in their constituencies.

The Telegraph reports that the MPs to be named in tonight’s programme who are renting out homes in London are the Conservative chairman of the culture, media and sport committee, John Whittingdale and former Labour cabinet minister, John Denham.

The programme’s investigative team also discovered that Labour’s Michael Meacher had moved out of his Oldham home to rent a new property, while ex Labour minister, Pat McFadden, had done the same in Wolverhampton.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) rules clearly state that “members of Parliament must not exploit the system for personal financial advantage”.

But the MPs are adamant that they have done no wrong, and were compelled to act by new IPSA rules banning claims for mortgage interest payments from the end of August.

IPSA is due to publish the names of the landlords of more than 300 MPs later today, in a move set to provoke the ire of Speaker, John Bercow, who is set against any such disclosures.

The revelations will lower even further the standing of MPs following the damaging revelations of the 2009 expenses scandal. Then, a series of deeply embarrassing stories emerged of politicians ‘flipping’ their homes for their own financial advantage at the taxpayers’ expense, as well as MPs collectively claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds for items such as a duck house and the draining of a moat.

Fraud

An accountant has admitted stealing at least £34,700 from a brain injury charity to pay off a supermarket credit card bill.

David Field, of Glewstone, near Ross-on-Wye, pleaded guilty to several fraud charges at Hereford Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard how Field, who was employed by Herefordshire Headway as an accountant, siphoned off the charity’s funds to pay off debts on a Tesco credit card debt and council tax.

The 56-year-old failed to tell the charity that he had a previous criminal conviction for fraud and falsely claimed to have a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification.

Judge Daniel Pearce- Higgins QC heard how Field also spent the charity’s money on a stay at a London hotel and various “unattractive uses of the card”.

The frauds were committed between April 2010 and January 2011.

Field took at least £34,796 from the charity, which works throughout Herefordshire to rehabilitate those afflicted with brain injuries induced from strokes and accidents.

The judge said the court could take into consideration the £9,000 salary Field was paid, making the total over £43,000.

Field was granted bail until the end of November when he is due back in court sentencing.

Fraud

Around £6bn a year is being lost to fraud by local authorities according to research published by accountants PKF.

The study – in conjunction with the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at Portsmouth University - was conducted using the world’s largest database on fraud losses.

It showed that local government bodies are now less resilient to fraud than they were two years ago despite fraudulent activity rising across the economy and budgets coming under increasing pressure due to austerity measures.

‘The Resilience to Fraud of the Local Government Sector’ report used a 50 point scale to assess the fraud resilience of 72 local authorities with a £20bn collective turnover. It found that organisations had average score of 35.1 points, compared with 38.1 points in 2010. Of the 29 factors assessed by the authors, fraud resilience has declined in 26 instances, and improved in only three.

Report co-author, Jim Gee, PKFs director of counter fraud services and chair of Portsmouth University’s Centre of Counter Fraud Studies, said:

‘The results of the report should be of significant concern to local authorities. There is a large body of evidence showing that organisations are more at risk of fraud during economic downturns, yet the local government sector seems to be cutting back on its counter fraud measures at exactly the time when it should be strengthening them.’

‘Put simply, if local authorities are cutting the cost of fraud as they should be, then this would make budgetary reductions less painful. The public will want to know that they are getting the quality of public services that they pay their taxes to get, rather than such services being undermined by the unnecessary cost of fraud.’

‘Local authorities should invest more in fraud defences at the moment because it is not unusual for an organisation to save up to 12 times the cost of the counter fraud work, and for fraud losses to be cut by up to 40%.’

VAT Fraud

Three company directors, who fraudulently claimed almost £220,000 in VAT repayments by pretending to sell a Bloomsbury hotel they didn’t own, have been sentenced.

Robin Reichelt, Stephen Nathan and John Gibbs claimed to have sold the hotel from one of their companies to another, but HMRC investigators uncovered false invoices and a fictitious credit note used to fake the VAT repayment claim.

John Cooper, HMRC’s assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said:

‘This was a sophisticated and blatant fraud committed by three criminals who tried to beat the system but were caught. Frauds of this nature mean that our investigations are increasingly complex, but we are committed to pursuing those responsible so that they can be prosecuted and the money stolen from the British taxpayer recovered.’

In 2005 Stephen Nathan raised an invoice from his company Pure Energy & Power PLC for the sale of a lease on a hotel in Bloomsbury, London that it did not own. This fraudulent invoice included VAT. Reichelt and Gibbs, his two fellow defendants, falsely claimed to have bought the hotel through their company A2Z Properties Ltd, and then proceeded to claim back the £218,750 VAT from the fictitious transaction. Shortly after, Pure Energy & Power PLC went into liquidation and A2Z Properties Ltd ceased trading.

All three were charged on 11 January 2010 with conspiracy to cheat the Public Revenue. Nathan and Reichelt were found guilty on 7 July 2011 at Southampton Crown Court. Nathan was sentenced to four years and five months in prison and disqualified from acting as a director for 15 years.

Reichelt was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail and disqualified from being a director for 10 years.

The jury failed to agree a verdict on Gibbs at the original trial but before his re-trial he admitted his guilt and was sentenced today (26 October 2012) to a one year suspended jail sentence. He was also given a six month supervision order, 200 hours community service and disqualified from becoming a director for 10 years.

Reporting restrictions were in place until sentencing.

Corrupt accountant

A corrupt church accountant has been dubbed 'despicable' by a judge who caged him for five years for stealing over £500,000, much of it intended for hungry orphans in the Philippines.

57-year-old Stephen Methuen, cynically abused his position of trust as a treasurer at Amblecote Christian Centre in Stourbridge and the Christian International Relief Mission to snaffle £517,000 over a six-year period.

His dishonest ways were only unearthed when Pastor Adrian Lowe, his personal friend, spotted irregularities while carrying out a financial assessment and called the police.

In a joint investigation by HMRC and West Midlands Police, they discovered that the cash had been transferred to Methuen’s own bank account.

When interviewed, Methuen told HMRC investigators he was innocent and the discrepancies were due to errors with computer software. However, digital forensic analysis of computers proved this to be a lie. He had transferred around £517,000 to his own account and paid off his personal credit cards.

Graham Ranson, Assistant Director Criminal Taxes Unit, HM Revenue & Customs, said: ‘Methuen was ruthless in his campaign to steal these substantial funds. He gained the trust of the organisations over a number of years and held a respected position. This did not satisfy him or provide any sense of loyalty.

‘The Gift Aid scheme is designed to benefit charities, but Methuen continued to falsify business records for his own financial benefit. The prison sentence handed out by the courts today sends out a clear message that crime does not pay and the community will be horrified to learn he exploited and stole from these charities and the taxpayer, in a sustained and methodical way, over a number of years.’

He was sentenced to five years in jail at Wolverhampton Crown Court having pleaded guilty to 12 charges of false accounting at a hearing earlier this year and four offences of cheating HMRC.

Sentencing him, Judge John Maxwell branded Methuen 'despicable' for stealing cash intended for charities, including helping hungry orphans.

Methuen, now separated from his wife Lynda, is expected to return to court for a Proceeds of Crime Hearing which could seize any remaining assets.

VAT Fraud

A builder from Kent has been jailed after his lavish lifestyle, built on the back of a £800k VAT fraud, was found to be on shaky ground.

Wayne Harrison’s illicit gains were spent on significant money transfers to Russia, designer jewellery and newly-built kitchen and conservatory that HMRC found evidence of, at the builder’s former home.

Harrison, 52, admitted submitting false VAT repayment claims for two companies he directed - David Charles Homes and Weybridge Homes – totalling £812,250 over a three year period between 2006 and 2009.

The deception was based on the premise that both companies were involved in new build properties, which are zero rated for tax purposes and meant Harrison could reclaim any standard rated payments.

In actual fact, the only building work carried out was to an unfinished property near Canterbury and extensive renovation of the house he has since left. The other claims were made up to illegally receive VAT repayments.

Investigations into the builder’s claims soon uncovered a web of deceit that included submitting fake invoices, and falsifying documents purporting to be from legitimate suppliers. He also reclaimed the VAT on bills he had not paid. It is thought that some of the money Harrison fraudulently obtained was used to purchase an apartment in Russia.

Harrison received a two and a half year sentence for two charges of cheating the public revenue at Canterbury Crown Court and was suspended from being a company director for five years. Upon sentencing, Mr Recorder Alex Milne QC said: ‘Your offending does strike at the heart of the taxation system, and I sentence you on the basis of loss to the taxpayer of £812,250. Your companies were validly registered [for VAT], but you became dishonest making fraudulent VAT refund applications.’

John Cooper, HMRC assistant director criminal investigation, said: ‘HMRC is determined to crack down on tax fraud, and investigate criminals like Harrison who are intent on stealing from UK taxpayers.’

Confiscation proceedings are underway to reclaim the ill-gotten gains from Harrison.

Benefit fraud

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18704658

Businessman jailed

A Yorkshire pensioner who helped criminals launder over £500,000 has been jailed after an investigation by HMRC. Ian David Smith from Cropton in Pickering admitted helping criminals hide their illicit profits by falsely putting them through the books of his family luxury cottage rental and horse and carriage businesses in an attempt to make the cash look legitimate.

His customers included a gang of convicted tobacco smugglers and a prolific mortgage fraudster, who he helped by buying property and vehicles using the illicit cash. Smith provided his ‘clients’ with fake invoices, putting the money through the company books to make it look as though they had paid for goods. The funds would then be paid back to the criminals at a later date, after taking a fee for his role in the transaction.

Martin Brown, assistant director for HMRC, said: ‘Ian Smith helped career criminals launder their illicit gains. He risked everything in exchange for money and as a result is paying the price for becoming involved in the criminal underworld. Money laundering is a serious crime and HMRC is committed to tackling the movement of criminal profit. Money is the lifeblood of crime and we will look to prosecute anyone involved in helping to hide dirty cash.’

Smith, who lives in a £3million farmhouse, runs a number of successful family businesses, including Beckhouse Carriages based in Stockton upon Tees, which provides luxury horse and carriages for weddings, funerals, feature films and television dramas. He also owns a luxury cottage rental business based in his hometown of Cropton, North Yorkshire.

Smith was arrested in September 2007 following an investigation by HMRC and pleaded guilty to money laundering at a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court in May 2012. Sentencing today His Honour Judge James said: ‘Without people like you criminals would not be able to hide their profits and you fell prey to temptation’.

He was sentenced to 2 years in prison and disqualified from being a company director or receiver for 5 years.

Smith was ordered to pay £199,500 under the Proceeds of Crime Act and was also ordered to pay £75,000 costs.

Redknapp in Court

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16677743

There have been many rumours about Redknapp over the years. This will be one to watch............

Polly Peck

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16686197

For those of us old enough to remember this, Polly Peck, darling of the Stock market spectacularly collapsed. It had extensive overseas operations and it was later alleged that foreign exchange profit went to the P&L account but foreign exchange losses went to reserves, thereby hiding its true profitability