Doug Barrowman should face further tax probe claims new investigation

Controversial entrepreneur Doug Barrowman faces further probes into tax avoidance schemes operated from his base in the Isle of Man.

His tax advisory business AML was the subject of a BBC Newsnight investigation which aired last night, part of a double whammy alongside a detailed report into Barrowman’s businesses by Tax Policy Associates, a think tank set up by former tax lawyer Dan Neidle.

It also alleged that Barrowman is associated with another business Vanquish, which as recently as 2019 was offering customers a way of avoiding penalties from loan charges, which HMRC had retrospectively closed down.

Barrowman has previously denied any involvement in Vanquish.

The former 3i investment director in Manchester, is already facing unwelcome scrutiny and a National Crime Agency investigation into the procurement of £200m of PPE equipment for the NHS during the pandemic through PPE Medpro, a business it is alleged he controlled.

He and his wife, the Ultimo lingerie tycoon Baroness peer Michelle Mone, claim they are being scapegoated for government failures.

On this matter Tax Policy Associates have investigated the practice of writing off the loans to contractors, through a Maltese company, as potentially fraudulent and claims there are grounds to investigate whether Vanquish Options was engaged in fraud towards HMRC.

The BBC Newsnight programme also appeared to link Vanquish to Barrowman, claiming emails to customers were sent by Vanquish from the same IP address as his offices on the Isle of Man.

In March 2022 AML Tax (UK) Limited, a Barrowman company, was fined £150,000 by a tax tribunal.

HMRC said it “aggressively” promoted tax avoidance schemes in the UK and referred to the firm as “Doug Barrowman’s tax avoidance firm”.

For her part Baroness Mone has launched a highly personal attack on Neidle.

She said on X (Twitter): “Some of his mistakes are quite frankly elementary and should be highly embarrassing to any self-respecting ‘tax professional’.”

A well known corporate financier in Manchester in the 1990s and 2000s, Barrowman moved to Isle of Man to set up Knox Group, which provided investment services for high net worth individuals, while associated business AML provided tax services for contractors.

Two other former Manchester-based associates of Barrowman, Tim Eve and Paul Ruocco, who set up private equity investor Aston Ventures with him, were also named in the BBC NewsNight programme last night.

Lawyers for Barrowman’s Knox Group denied “any and all allegations of dishonesty, misconduct and wrongdoing”.

In a statement, it said HMRC was “properly notified” of the schemes and that there had been “extensive dialogue and disclosure” with tax authorities for “several years”.

During this time, it said HMRC had “never even suggested, let alone alleged, that there has been any form of dishonesty or wrongdoing by the Knox Group”.

Knox Group “deeply and sincerely” regretted the distress caused to former customers who were forced to repay loans linked to their tax scheme, which it blamed on “retrospective” and “retroactive” legal action from the UK government.