Two members of a
21-strong criminal tax fraud gang have been ordered to re-pay a
record £92.3 million in the biggest ever confiscation order
secured by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The gang bought luxury houses in London, high performance cars,
and built blocks of flats in Dubai after stealing £37.5 million in
a ‘missing trader’ VAT tax fraud. The two men, who are currently
serving seven year jail terms, will face a further ten years in
prison each if they fail to abide by the order.
Richard Meadows, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for
HMRC, said:
“This is the largest ever confiscation order secured by Revenue
& Customs at the end of one of our most complicated
investigations. I believe it to be one of the largest confiscation
orders in the UK to date. The gang stole £37.5 million in a VAT
tax fraud using the cash to invest in luxury property in the UK
and abroad.
“We are determined to bring to justice the criminals behind this
type of fraud and take away the proceeds of their crime. We have
worked very closely with the West Midlands Regional Asset Recovery
Team (RART) and law enforcement agencies across the world to bring
this case to a successful conclusion.”
Syed Ahmed of Buckinghamshire and Shakeel Ahmad of Middlesex,
both currently serving seven year jail terms, were each ordered to
repay £92.3 million within two months or face an additional ten
years in jail as well as still having to repay the money.
The judge stated the joint minimum payable by both defendants is
£92.3 million.
Officers have restrained high value assets including:
· A luxury flat in Knightsbridge worth £4.5 million
· A house in Harrow worth £2 million
· A house in Buckinghamshire worth £1.5 million
· A riverside flat in Battersea worth £500,000
· Two apartment tower blocks in Dubai worth £80 million
· High performance motorcars including a Ferrari 360 Modena
convertible and a Mercedes 500CL
They also gave ‘tainted gifts’ to their families including top of
the range designer clothing, a Range Rover and cash totalling
around £1 million.
His Honour Lord Justice Richard Flaux said:
“You are both complete liars and devious. You are adept at using
others in an attempt to make your activities legitimate, creating
a smokescreen to hide the value of your assets and conceal this
from HMRC.”
Background
Investigations began in April 2002 into the ‘missing trader’
fraud, involving the dishonest manipulation of the VAT system
through the import and export of computer processing units (CPUs).
The gang used highly complex chains of VAT registered
companies both here and abroad to steal £37.5 million.
The final defendant of the 21 strong crime gang was sentenced
last month and ended one of the most complex investigations
undertaken by HMRC which included seven trials and retrials. In
total the gang were jailed for 74 years.
The conspiracy involved the import of CPUs mainly from Ireland
VAT free. The goods would then be sold on more cheaply, but with
VAT added, through a chain of companies each involved in the plot
and sham invoices would be issued. Once the goods had been sold on
a number of times they would be exported back to the EU. The
exporter would then claim a VAT credit from HMRC for the VAT paid
on the purchase of the goods.
The gang would divide the dishonest profits of the fraud and
launder them through various bank accounts both in the UK and
abroad. The account holders would then withdraw the bulk of the
cash and were paid a commission for their dishonest service. Some
of the money is believed to have been invested in a third a tonne
of gold bullion, substantial property in Dubai and a luxury flat
near Harrods.
Notes to Editors
1. Full reporting restrictions have been in place during
confiscation proceedings at Leicester Crown Court, these have now
been removed.
2. Photographs of the defendants and assets restrained are
available on request.
3. Confiscation Orders have been secured against all five
defendants in Operation Devout Trial 1 and the majority of
defendants in Trial 2. Further confiscation hearings continue for
the remaining twelve defendants from a further three trials.
4. Details of defendants and sentencing in Operation Devout Trial
1, at Northampton Crown Court on 14 August 2006 (Farrell) and the
remaining defendants on 30 March 2007, along with Confiscation
Orders secured include:
Syed Mubarak Ahmed (DOB 25.09.72) Round Coppice, Iver Heath
Buckinghamshire, formerly of Beaulieu Close, Datchet, Slough,
Berkshire, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was
disqualified from being a company director for 12 years.
Syed Mubarak Ahmed, one of
the main players,was involved in MST Associates (UK) Limited
of Uxbridge. A VAT registered business used by the ‘missing
trader’ to distance themselves from the shipper (or exporter) and
reclaim the VAT charged by the ‘missing trader’.
Confiscation Order - £92.3 million, to be
paid within two months or face an additional ten years in jail.
· Shakeel Ahmad (DOB 07.01.72) 10 Astons Northwood,
Middlesex, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was
disqualified from being a company director for 12 years.
Ahmad, one of the main players,was also involved
in MST Associates (UK) Limited. A VAT registered business used by
the ‘missing trader’ to distance themselves from the shipper (or
exporter) and reclaim the VAT charged by the ‘missing trader’.
Confiscation Order - £92.3 million, to be
paid within two months or face an additional ten years in jail.
Stephen Farrell (DOB 07.05.59) 1,The Tryst, Birmingham Road,
Lickey End, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was sentenced to four
years in prison. He was disqualified from being a company director
for 12 years.
Confiscation Order -
£127,000. Unpaid by due date. Farrell is serving an additional 30
months in jail. The money is still owed
Mark Frederick Sheasby (DOB 16.10.61) 3 Fox Lane, Alrewas,
Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was sentenced to five years in
prison. He was disqualified from being a company director for 12
years. The Court of Appeal later reduced his sentence to 3.5
years.
Confiscation Order – £285,283 paid in full.
Somasuntharam Jeyakumar (DOB 26.11.61) 36 Hawthorne Drive,
Harrow, Middlesex was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. He was
disqualified from being a company director for eight years.
Confiscation Order – £285,283 paid in full.
Jaswender Singh Chahal (DOB 30.01.59) of 15 Hudson Road,
Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, was sentenced to 18 months in prison
for laundering £461,000.
Confiscation Order - £50,000. So far £38,800
has been paid.
5. Full details of all defendants are available at:
nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=413506&SubjectId=5
6 If you have received this notice by fax or
e-mail pictures are available at
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=414272&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=257
Contacts:
Jennie Kendall
Mobile: 07810 815832
jennie.kendall@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk