Sharp increase in HMRC convictions
ALMOST 700 tax fraudsters and benefit cheats were convicted this year, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Between January and the end of November, HMRC investigations led to 690 successful convictions – up from 477 in 2012, and the highest since the 2010 Spending Review.
The investigations covered everything from complex VAT, income tax and benefit frauds to smuggling cases.
HMRC said its biggest case was Operation Hornbeam – a £26m tobacco fraud committed by a gang of Yorkshire smugglers who described their tobacco as “wet, mouldy and smells like manure, but sells because it’s cheap”.
The plot, which flooded the North with more than 150 million cigarettes and two tonnes of low quality tobacco, was masterminded by Doncaster men Daniel Harty and Billy-Jo Wall. Along with brothers, William and Samuel Tomlinson, Ben Kirk, Peter Lawrence and Jonathan Ellis all from Retford and John Sabin from Doncaster after they smuggled cigarettes and tobacco into the UK.
Under the direction of Harty and Wall the gang created a distribution network that transported millions of cigarettes throughout the North to warehouses, storage yards and farms. The shipments were then broken down into smaller loads and delivered to towns and cities across the UK to sell on the black market.
Exchequer secretary to the treasury, David Gauke, said: “The Government is determined to make sure people pay the tax they owe and HMRC will come down hard on those who try to cheat the system. Honest taxpayers will be pleased that these fraudsters are now paying for their crimes.
“We have invested nearly £1bn in HMRC to tackle those who fail to play by the rules, and today’s figures clearly demonstrate that investment is paying off.”
