HMRC reveals top 10 tax fraud cases of 2017
By Tom Carnegie, 4 Jan 18
In its ongoing fight against tax evasion, HM Revenue & Customs has revealed its top ten tax fraud and organised crime cases of 2017. The list includes people with offshore accounts, a would-be spy, millionaires, accountants and data thieves. All cases came with large prison sentences.
A Dubai-based British businessman, who financed a major cigarette smuggling gang was stripped of prime Thames-side land to pay back £4.5m.
Robert Doran, 51, was jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2012 for bankrolling a large-scale smuggling operation and his now main asset – land in Dartford, Kent – has been sold to repay the public purse.
Doran took the Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Unit all the way to the Supreme Court to claim that the confiscation order, made at Ipswich Crown Court, breached his human rights.
His case was not only dismissed but the amount he had to repay tripled from £1.45m to more than £4.3m – plus interest.
