WIREDGOV

Jackson is the owner of Doncaster-based L Jackson & Co, one of the largest suppliers of used military equipment in the world; Smithey was an employee but had left the company before his arrest. In September 2005 Jackson applied for an export licence to send 15 BV206 military vehicles worth nearly £500,000 to Sudan, but was refused by the then Department for Trade & Industry (now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills). Jackson and Smithey ignored this and went ahead, sending the vehicles on a circuitous route to Sudan via intermediaries in Norway in an attempt to disguise the final destination.

Peter Millroy, Head of HMRC’s specialist unit on military exports, said:

“This was a flagrant breach of UK export controls in order to supply military equipment to Sudan in blatant contravention of an arms embargo. Today’s result shows that HMRC will relentlessly pursue and seek to prosecute those who flout the UK’s export controls in this way.”

Background

Andrew Jackson had previously been told by the Ministry of Defence, the former Department for Trade and Industry, and HM Revenue & Customs that his BV206 vehicles needed an export licence because they were military vehicles. In September 2005, he applied for a licence to ship the vehicles to a customer in Sudan, which was refused. Jackson then sent the vehicles back to Norway, evading controls by deliberately and wrongly using a general export licence, which is usually reserved for UK military surplus vehicles. In reality, he was making secret arrangements to have the BV206 vehicles forwarded on to Sudan, to an original end user which Jackson claimed was an oil exploration company – White Nile Petroleum. HMRC investigators raided Jackson’s in March 2007, finding evidence that a systematic and deliberate fraud had taken place. One document showed a quote from L Jackson & Co to the Sudanese Army’s ‘Foreign Procurement Branch’ in Khartoum, offering 400 BV206s worth £10m. Shortly after this quote, the deal with White Nile petroleum began to take shape. However Jackson failed to mention this when he was asked by HMRC officers specifically about deals with Sudan.

Following the search of L Jackson & Co, Andrew Jackson was interviewed by officers where he claimed the deal with White Nile Petroleum had collapsed and that he had simply sent the goods back to Norway. He said the use of his general export licence had been an administrative mistake. This, however, was at odds with forensic evidence recovered from his computer and material obtained by investigators from Norway. An employee, Steve Smithey, was arrested in 2009 after documents showed his involvement in the subterfuge. When interviewed, Smithey eventually admitted that both he and Jackson knew that the vehicles were going to Sudan, after the licence had been refused.

Andrew Jackson then went on to supply a further 15 BV206s a year later, again to Norway. This time, he applied for an export licence with no mention of Sudan, which was approved. These 15 vehicles were also sent directly to Sudan from Norway, to the same end-user.

Confiscation proceedings are underway against Andrew Jackson.

NAT 77.09

Notes to Editors

1. Details of the defendants:

· Andrew Jackson, DOB 15/02/1963, of Westwoodside, South Yorkshire (owner of L Jackson & Co, Doncaster)

· Stephen Smithey, DOB 7/08/1981, of Epworth Road, Haxey, South Yorkshire;


2. Details of charges:

Knowingly contravening the prohibition on the supply of controlled goods to an embargoed destination contrary to Article 8(2) of the Trade in Controlled Goods (Embargoed Destinations) Order 2004

Particulars of offence

Andrew Jackson and Steven Smithey, between the 1 st January 2005 and 21 st March 2006, knowingly contravened the prohibition or restriction in Article 3 of the Trade in Controlled Goods (Embargoed Destinations) Order 2004, in that they engaged in acts calculated to promote the supply or delivery of 15 Hagglund BV206 Personnel Carriers to Sudan, an embargoed destination

3. The conflict in Sudan started during 2003, in the area of Darfur. The Darfur region comprises an area approximately the size of France, the larger part of which is desert. The BV206 was specifically designed to operate in environments like this. The civil war in Darfur is being waged by the Sudanese Government and military, together with a militia group called the Janjaweed. The opposition is a combination of the Sudanese Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. Since 2003, the government forces and the Janjaweed have allegedly carried out war crimes and genocide against civilians of Darfur. According to some reports, it is estimated that up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced. The President of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir, has been indicted by the United Nations for war crimes.

4. In March 2004 the UK Government introduced the Trade in Controlled Goods (Embargoed Destinations) Order 2004. The purpose of this order was in part to restrict the supply of equipment with military capabilities to designated areas of conflict. The order came into force on 3 March 2004.

5. Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was created by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General and is responsible for prosecuting cases for HMRC and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). It prosecutes some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK. For further information about RCPO, please contact their press office on 020 7147 7746 or visit www.rcpo.gov.uk.

6. For those receiving this by email, pictures of the kind of troop carriers involved may be downloaded at:

Contacts:

HMRC Out of Hours
Phone: 07860 359544
NDS.HMRC@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Jonathan Hall
Phone: 020 7147 0052
jonathan.hall@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Sara Gaines
Phone: 020 7147 0394
sara.gaines@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk