Top corporate financier’s tax fraud charges dismissed
Corporate financier Richard Hughes has had all charges of tax fraud dismissed by a judge.
Hughes, 48, is the co-founder of Manchester-based corporate finance firm Zeus Capital. He faced two charges of conspiracy to defraud and intent to defraud HM Revenue and Customs by making claims for capital loss relief.
The charges related to £134m investment schemes and result from a three-year investigation and the trial had been set to be heard at Birmingham Crown Court in January 2018.
Following an application submitted by Hughes’ legal team for all charges to be dismissed, HHJ Drew QC ruled that charges laid in the case relating to tax losses were deficient.
A spokesman for Hughes has confirmed that all the charges brought against him have been dismissed.
Manchester tax accountant Stephen Bold, who faced three charges, has also been cleared.
The Crown Prosecution Service, which brought the case at Birmingham Crown Court, said: “We are aware of Monday’s judgment in relation to two of the defendants [Richard Hughes and Stephen Bold] and are currently considering our options. It would be inappropriate to comment further while there are active proceedings.”
HMRC said in a statement: “HMRC is currently awaiting advice on this ruling and will not comment further at this stage.”
A further eight defendants are still facing charges. Matthew Cahill and Timothy Richardson each face three charges; Jonathan Hirst, Patrick McCoy, Dominic Ryder and Christopher Ward each face two charges; while Richard Roydon and Katrin Hoffman, the chief operating officer of US film production company Seven Arts, each face a single charge. All defendants have been on unconditional bail and deny wrongdoing.
The charges followed a three-year probe by HMRC into a film investment scheme. The long-running investigation focused on Zeus Partners, a separate business that sold film investment schemes generating tax relief to high net worth investors.
The argument was whether a £134m investment scheme sold by Zeus Partners in 2008 was against the law.
Hughes, who resigned as a director of Zeus in 2015 but remains an adviser and shareholder to the Manchester and London-based business, has vigorously denied any wrongdoing from the outset.
At the time charges were brought he described the move by the Crown Prosecution Service to advance the case against him, as “beyond comprehension”, and vowed to clear his name.
