Two brothers, who
stole more than £1.6m through tax fraud and by stealing from their
employees to finance their luxury lifestyles, have been jailed at
Croydon Crown Court today for six years, following a complex
investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Haris and Adam Mukhtar, from Ilford, made £1.3m worth of fake VAT
claims for various bogus companies, from chauffeuring to importing
rice. Haris Mukhtar also told 200 of his own staff that £330,000
cash taken from their debit and credit cards was for national
insurance and tax payments; Haris, described in court by the judge
as “thoroughly dishonest” and “totally bent”, pocketed some of the
cash for himself. HMRC specialist investigators prevented a
further £320,000 being paid in other fraudulent VAT claims.
Haris and Adam bought themselves Lamborghinis and a
hand-built Mercedes McLaren with their ill-gotten cash. The
brothers, who shared a home, filled it with high-spec televisions,
buying one for every room in the house.
John Pointing, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation
for HMRC, said:
"Criminals such as this are menaces who steal from
honest taxpayers. HMRC is cracking down on fraud and the
Government has made a further £900 million available to us for
tackling evasion, avoidance and attacks by criminal gangs.”
Confiscation proceedings against both brothers are ongoing.
Notes to Editors
1. Details of defendants are:
Haris Mukhtar, DOB 17/01/1971 of 86 Wanstead Lane Ilford,
sentenced to six years imprisonmentAdam Mukhtar, DOB 07/02/1982 of
86 Wanstead Lane Ilford, sentenced to 12 months imprisonment
suspended for two yearsBoth pleaded guilty to attempting to cheat
the public revenue. In addition, Haris pleaded guilty to cheating
the public revenue, money laundering and Fraud Act offences.
2. The brothers attempted to steal a total of £2 million;
£320,000 of this was withheld by HMRC
3. If anyone has any information to report to HM Revenue
& Customs (HMRC) about any individuals or businesses that
may be evading their tax, please contact the Tax Evasion hotline
by calling 0800 788 887 or via the website www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion.
Follow HMRC on Twitter @HMRCgovuk.
NAT 48/11
Contacts:
HM Revenue & Customs Press Office
HMRC-Press-office.NDSmanagement@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
Sara Pont
Phone: 020 7147 0394
sara.pont@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk