Adviser arrested in £132m tax fraud raid
A TAX adviser from Warwickshire has been arrested as part of a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation into a suspected £132 million tax fraud.
More than 30 officers from HMRC searched four residential and one business address during morning raids yesterday in the North West and Midlands. Computers, business and personal records were seized during the operation.
Three men – a 59 year-old from Warwickshire, a 67 year-old from Derbyshire, and a 56 year-old from Greater Manchester – were interviewed and bailed, pending further enquiries.
The arrests were made as a result of a HMRC investigation into a complex scheme involving offshore trusts used by professional financial advisers to facilitate UK individuals to avoid around £132m in income tax.
Paul Maybury, assistant director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “These arrests show that we are determined to tackle not only those suspected of tax fraud, but also the professionals who we believe abuse their position of trust to help them do it.
“The vast majority of taxpayers pay the tax they owe, but for those who don’t we will not hesitate to use our full range of powers to ensure that nobody is beyond our reach.”
