The 15th member of
a gang involved in a £250 million VAT fraud using the supposed
import and export of mobile phones, has been jailed today for nine
years. Multi-millionaire Nasir Khan’s assets of £15million have
also been restrained for his part in one of the UK’s largest ever
‘missing trader’ frauds.
Fourteen other career criminals were jailed for almost 90 years
for their part in the conspiracy in five previous trials.
Reporting restrictions on all six trials have now been lifted
following the conviction of Khan who, using the alias Nasa Khan,
made donations of £34,000 to Crimestoppers in 2008.
The ten year investigation by HM Revenue & Customs
(HMRC), codenamed Operation Euripus, revealed an intricate
spider’s web of conspiracy as officers painstakingly unravelled
the criminal network.
Chris Martin, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation
for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said:
“The scale of
this operation was unprecedented when we carried out the initial
raids in 2003. We had 350 officers visiting around 100 premises
across the UK and Spain which led to the arrest of 42 people.
”VAT fraud is a serious crime which diverts vital income from the
UK’s public services into the pockets of career criminals to fund
their lavish and luxurious lifestyles. There are clear
associations between this type of organised crime and violence,
shootings, kidnap, extortion and drug trafficking. We will do
everything in our power to put a stop to these sustained and
determined criminal attacks against the taxpayer.”
He added: “This sends a clear signal to anyone involved or
considering becoming involved in VAT fraud that the crime is
serious and so are the penalties.”
The Court heard that on 2 July 2003, following a lengthy and
painstaking investigation, HMRC officers carried out a series of
coordinated arrests across the UK. The operation resulted in the
seizure of over half a million documents and 130 computer hard
drives.
Analysis of numerous documents and computers seized showed
transaction chains, contacts between the defendants and how the
organisation was carrying out fraudulent deals. Offshore bank
accounts were identified showing monies being transferred from the
UK and EU into accounts in Hong Kong, Pakistan and Dubai. The
fraud was carried out over a two year period from June 2001 to
July 2003.
On sentencing in this sixth trial His Honour Judge Loraine-Smith
commented: “The level of profits were too great for you to resist.
You had tried to paint yourself as a generous provider to
charities and as a role model – in truth, you were nothing of the
kind. You were close to the heart of the fraud and benefited
greatly from it.”
Notes for editors 1. Strict reporting
restrictions have been in place during all six trials. They have
now been lifted on the conviction of the defendant Nasir Khan at
Southwark Crown Court, who was charged money laundering under the
Criminal Justice Act 1988. All other defendants were charged with
Conspiracy to Cheat the Public Revenue under the Criminal Law Act
1977. All where found guilty with the exception of Hughes who
pleaded guilty.
2. Photographs are available of all defendants, the haul of
‘antique’ mobile phones as well as some of the high value assets
restrained. A ‘crime chart’ depicting each defendant’s role in the
fraud is also available.
3. Details of the defendant sentenced in trial six today 20
December 2011 at Southwark Crown Court, include:
* Nasir Khan,
also known as Nasa Khan, (DOB 09.09.72), of 1102 Atlantic Suites,
Gibraltar, was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was
disqualified from holding a company directorship for ten years.
Khan was the owner of The Accessory People PLC, Cox Lane,
Chessington, a business dealing in mobile phone accessories.
However, as the accessory market declined around 2001, The
Accessory People PLC began fraudulent wholesale trade in mobile
phones, boosting turnover from £13million in 2002 to £219million
in 2003, earning large profits for Khan. He bought luxury
properties on the Thames at Putney Wharf, Chelsea Harbour, and in
Spain and Gibraltar.
Confiscation Order: Proceedings ongoing.
Assets of £15million have been restrained.
4. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial five on 19
April 2011 at Southwark Crown Court, include
* Jo-Anne Halliday, formerly Evans-Hulme, (19.01.70), of 57
The Wood, Weston Coyney, Staffordshire, was sentenced to two years
and ten months in prison.
Halliday acted as a ‘buffer trader’ in a company selling to
exporting companies. She used her business Precision Telecom Ltd,
a VAT registered company, to put distance between the ‘missing
trader’ and the exporter (‘broker’).
Confiscation Order:
Proceedings ongoing.
* Curtis Laurent, (DOB 30.09.58), of 1 Cefn Rise, High Cross,
Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison
Laurent was a director of SAVA Ltd, another buffer company
inserted in the chains to add distance between the missing trader
at the start of the chain, and the exporter at the end. SAVA Ltd
often bought from the missing traders yet sent the proceeds to EU
companies controlled by the criminal group.
Confiscation
Order: Proceedings ongoing.
5. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial four on 26
November 2010 at Southwark Crown Court, include
* Dennis Hunter, (DOB 12.11.50), of Castelldefels, Barcelona,
Spain, was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Hunter was a principal player in the fraud and ran three
Spanish companies, Consulting Triton Blanco SL, Total Network SL
and Proft-Tech Canaries SL. These companies supposedly received
wholesale quantities of mobile phones from the UK exporters, then
sold them straight back to UK missing traders who failed to
account for the VAT due. None of the consignments ever reached
Spain. Hunter transferred the mounting profits to bank accounts
held in Hong Kong and the UAE, controlled by the criminal
group.
Confiscation Order: £1.62million – paid in full
* Peter Arthur Ebbrell, (13.03.51), formerly of 3 Abberton Way,
Coventry, was sentenced to four years and five months in prison.
Ebbrell, a former second hand car dealer, ran the UK buffer
company Trans-Global Electronics PLC. He bought large quantities
of phones from UK missing traders, and sent the proceeds direct to
EU companies controlled by, amongst others, Hunter, Apabhai and
Amani.
Confiscation Order: £50,000 to be paid by March 2012 or
serve a further 18 months in prison.
6. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial three on 14
January 2010 at Southwark Crown Court, include
* Hashib Ansari Apabhai, (DOB 20.04.60), of 1 The Gatehouse,
Gatehouse Lane, Bedworth, near Coventry, was sentenced to seven
and a half years in prison.
Apabhai was an organiser of the fraud, working closely with
his son, Eisa, and associate Adam Amani. He facilitated the
opening of bank accounts and oversaw the running of a number of
the EU companies from addresses in Coventry.
Confiscation
Order: £495,000 – to be paid by December 2012 or serve a further
three years in prison. Assets of £395,000 restrained.
* Adam Amani, also known as Mohammed Novsarka, (DOB 15.03.61),
formerly of 216A Coventry Road, Exhall, Bedworth, near Coventry,
was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Amani, was a close associate of Hashib and Eisa Apabhai. He
ran Spanish companies Main Guy SL, Sistemas Electronicos Limitados
SL, Cheer-io Primero SL, International Commodities SL, and a Dutch
company Service Dienst Veenstra BV from a flat rented in a false
name in Roland Avenue, Coventry. These companies supposedly bought
large volumes of mobile phones and sold them back to UK missing
traders. The accumulated profits were sent out to accounts in Hong
Kong and the UAE.
Confiscation Order: £50,000 – to be paid by
December 2012 or serve a further 12 months in prison.
* Eisa Masihullah Apabhai, also known as Raees Siddiqui, (DOB
30.11.80) of 1 The Gatehouse, Gatehouse Lane, Bedworth, near
Coventry, was sentenced to six years in prison.
Apabhai worked closely with his father Hashib, and Amani,
running the EU companies from the Roland Avenue address in
Coventry, and opening bank accounts for these companies with
Amani. He often used the false name Imran Sheikh.
Confiscation
Order: £490,784 – money held in restrained bank account
7. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial two on 20 July
2009 at Southwark Crown Court, include
* German Castillo, (DOB 18/10/1964) of Castelldefels,
Barcelona, Spain, was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Castillo was a principal player in the fraud and spearheaded
the multi million money laundering operation. His Spanish
companies, GSM Fox SL, Autoimport MG 2000 SL, Liden Gold SL, Elec
Canarias SL, Concepts S21 SL and Dutch company GCE Trade BV played
a similar role to Hunter, purportedly buying huge volumes of
mobile phones and selling them straight back to UK missing
traders. He would transfer the mounting profits through numerous
banks accounts of his various companies. Over £3 million could
pass through his bank accounts in one day, with money trails
leading from the UK to Spain and onto Hong Kong and Dubai.
Confiscation Order: £3million to be paid by May 2012 or serve
a further nine years in prison.
* Jonathon Baigent, (DOB 25.01.66), formerly of 46 Munnings
Drive, College Town, Sandhurst, Surrey, was sentenced to six and a
half years in prison.
Baigent, along with his personal and business partner Denise
Westmoreland, played a series of important roles in the operation
of this fraud. They operated companies which acted as exporters,
as buffers and also as corrupt in-house freight forwarders. As
freight forwarders, they provided bogus inspection reports for the
mobile phones to help legitimise the chains of transactions. When
the warehouse of his freight forwarder business, Beechill
Logistics Ltd in Frimley, Surrey was raided by HMRC in July 2003,
the stock was found to be of worthless broken and obsolete
phones.
Confiscation Order: £40,000 to be paid by September
2011 or serve a further 12 months in prison.
Confiscation
default sentence: Proceedings Ongoing
* Denise Westmoreland, (14.05.66), formerly of 46 Munnings Drive,
College Town, Sandhurst, Surrey, was sentenced to six and a half
years in prison.
Westmoreland, along with her personal and business partner
Baigent, played a series of important roles in the operation of
this fraud. They operated UK buffer traders, an Irish company
Dealatronics Ltd which sold to UK missing traders, and also had an
in-house freight forwarder business, Beechill Logistics Ltd in an
attempt to legitimise the fraud.
Confiscation Order: £10,000 –
paid in full.
8. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial one on 12
September 2008 at Southwark Crown Court, include:
* Taher
Majid, (18.06.72) of 56 Ty Draw Road, Roath Park, Cardiff, was
sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was disqualified from being a
company director for 10 years.
Majid was a principal player in the fraud. He registered pay
as you go mobile phones in false names to give instructions to
traders in the chains. He changed these phones monthly in an
effort to avoid detection. Just prior to his arrest, he wiped the
hard drive of his computer. However, HMRC digital forensic
investigators were able to recover extracts from his hard drive,
showing evidence of the fraud. Majid was a fish and chip shop
owner with no overt connection to the mobile phone
industry.
Confiscation Order: £3.5million to be paid by July
2012 or serve a further 10 years in prison.
* Abdul Koser, (DOB 05.01.66), of 146 Alexandra Road South,
Cheshire, was sentenced to five years in prison. He was
disqualified from being a company director for five years.
Koser acted as a ‘buffer trader’ in the fraud, using his
company Kosco Communications Ltd to put distance between the
‘missing trader’ and the exporter in the fraud. He often made
payments direct to the organisers controlling the EU bank
accounts. When his bank closed his account, he utilised a corner
shop/DVD business in Wilmslow, Manchester, called Gaff Video
Stores to supposedly continue with the supply of mobile
phones.
Confiscation Order: £800,000 to be paid by January
2011.
Confiscation Default Sentence: Currently serving a
further four years in prison. He stills owes the money.
* Quentin Reynolds, (DOB 03.07.62), of 15 Herons Lea, Sheldon
Avenue, North London, was sentenced to four and a half years in
prison. He was disqualified from being a company director for five years.
Reynolds acted as a ‘buffer trader’ in the fraud. He used his
businesses, Electric Express Ltd, Multitask Communications Ltd and
Falcon Media, to put distance between the missing trader and the
exporter in the fraud. His companies often made payments direct to
the EU companies. He also had a company called Interway Global
Logistics which rented a warehouse in Alperton, London. This was
to be another freight forwarder dedicated to legitimising the
fraud. Reynolds was seen during surveillance driving a vehicle
with number plate V1LAN.
Confiscation Order: £53,931 to be
paid by July 2011 or serve a further 18months in
prison.
Confiscation default sentence: Proceedings Ongoing
* Marcus Hughes, (DOB 08.09.70), of HMP Dovegate and previously
of 14 Millers View, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire,
pleaded guilty on 17 April 2008 and was sentenced to six years in
prison. He was already serving a 12 year prison sentence for drug
smuggling at the time of his conviction.
Hughes ran a buffer trader in the chains, Abbey Electrical
Wholesale Ltd, but his main role was as an in-house freight
company, Abbey Storage & Distribution at Blythe Business
Park, Cresswell, Staffordshire. His role was to provide bogus
stock inspection reports and store and move the consignments of
phones. When HMRC searched the warehouse in July 2003 they again
found obsolete phones and electrical junk, but also evidence of
drugs importation. During the search, a delivery arrived by lorry
for Hughes’ unit. A search of the lorry revealed a concealment of
two tons of cannabis resin, ultimately resulting in Hughes’ drugs
conviction.
Confiscation Order: £296,000 paid in full as a
result of the drugs conviction.
9. To view the photographs associated with this release,
please use the link below:
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=422557&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=257
10. Follow HMRC on Twitter @HMRCgovuk.
NAT 107/11
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office Press
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