TAX NEWS: VAT fraudsters ordered to repay £12m. By Dan Martin

Posted by AccountingWEB PM | on Wed, 30/08/2006 - 10:41 4065 1 comment

Seven convicted carousel fraud scammers have been ordered to repay almost £12m in unpaid VAT.

The men made up an organised criminal gang based in Spain who collected £38m in what HMRC described as a "highly sophisticated attack on the UK VAT system".

HMRC launched a lengthy investigation in early 1997 after which the men were given prison sentences totalling 30 years following a series of trials between 2002 and 2006. At a series of confiscation hearings in Nottingham and Birmingham Crown Courts, the criminals were also ordered to repay around £12 million or face longer in jail.

Continued...

Sophisticated attack?

dan06 | Thu, 31/08/2006 - 09:58 | Permalink

The words 'highly sophisticated attack' were taken from the HMRC's press release on the case. As for the delay in reporting of the case, HMRC said: "Reporting restrictions were in place throughout the trials but were lifted to allow reporting of sentencing. Details of the confiscation orders have not been released earlier due to the lengthy process and legal advice."

Dan Martin
Business Editor
AccountingWEB