Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/03/24/hmrc_vat_fraud_sentence/
Five jailed for £140m VAT scam
Nearly 40 years' chokey for revenue cheats
Posted in Channel, 24th March 2011 14:38 GMT
Five men have been jailed for their roles in a huge missing-trader fraud which netted £140m.
The men were sentenced to 37 and a half years in prison in total.
HMRC said the five were motivated by pure greed. They were convicted of various counts of cheating the Revenue contrary to Common Law.
Andrew Hart (40) of Cricklewood, London, Mohammed Chaudhery (36) of Slough, Berkshire, Kevin Davis (46) of Kilburn, London, and Abdul Jabbar Butt (49) of Wembley, Middlesex set up their own limited companies, most of which traded for five weeks or less.
A fifth man, Tariq Sarwar, of Ryecroft Street, Gloucester acted as organiser. He pleaded guilty to five counts of cheating the Revenue and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
They imported mobile phones and computer chips VAT-free from other EU countries, then sold them on, with VAT added to UK customers. Each company owed the Revenue between £26.5m and £39.1m when it shut.
The money was never paid to the Rev but was laundered through various offshore firms.
The investigation began in October 2005 when Mohammed Chaudery was arrested. Information on his computer provided links to the other gang members and their companies.
The gang members got a flat fee of up to £30,000 for their work. HMRC is also seeking forfeiture of assets.
Click through to the next page for complete details of the fraudsters, and their companies, from HMRC. ®
1. Mohammed Tazib Chaudhery, (date of birth 19/1/1975) a UK national of 139 High Street, Slough, Berkshire, was the sole director of Greenview Electrical Supplies Ltd of Godolphin Road, Slough, Berkshire. He pleaded guilty to one count of Cheating the Revenue contrary Common Law and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on 22 March 2011.
2. Kevin Davis, (date of birth 10/2/1965) a UK national of 223 Ashmore Road, Kilburn, London, was the sole director of Intertec Trading Ltd. He pleaded guilty to one count of Cheating the Revenue contrary to Common Law and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on 22 March 2011.
3. Abdul Jabbar Butt, (date of birth 18/9/1961) of 47 Nettleden Ave, Wembley, Middlesex, was the sole director of Fone Rack Cellular Accessories Ltd. He pleaded guilty to one count of Cheating the Revenue contrary to Common Law and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on 22 March 2011.
4. Andrew Pierre Hart, (date of birth 18/11/1970) of 10a Lichfield Road, Cricklewood, London, was sole director of Shakedown Productions UK Ltd. He pleaded not guilty to one count of Cheating the Revenue contrary to Common Law. He was found guilty on 16 February 2011 and was sentenced to seven and a half years' imprisonment on 22 March 2011.
5. Tariq Sarwar, (date of birth 11/12/1966) of 35 Ryecroft St, Gloucester, (formerly of 56 Neville Close, Hounslow, Middlesex), pleaded not guilty to five counts of Cheating the Revenue contrary to Common Law and was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment on 22 March 2011. His role was as an organiser/coordinator of the fraud and he owned the laptop which contained information that was central to the fraud. He was found guilty on 16 February 2011 on each of the five counts of the fraud committed by the other five defendants.