VAT fraudsters stripped of luxury mansion

Two VAT fraudsters, who chose to spend an extra decade in prison rather than pay back stolen cash, have had their £2.1m Buckinghamshire country house sold by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Syed Ahmed and Shakeel Ahmad, both 51, were jailed for seven years in 2007 for their part in a £12.6m VAT fraud that saw 21 individuals receive prison sentences totalling 74 years.

The defendants were jointly ordered by the judge to repay £16.1 million but the pair refused to comply with the court order and served an extra 10 years in prison instead.

Despite serving extra time in prison the money is still owed and HMRC investigators continued working to track down their hidden assets.

The pair had tried to hide a luxury Buckinghamshire house by placing it under the ownership of an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

The country house – boasting two kitchens, five receptions rooms, five bedrooms and a sauna, and set in 1.65 acres of English countryside - has now been sold by receivers appointed by HMRC for £2.1 million at auction, more than double the guide price.

HMRC has now recovered around £10m from the pair by identifying and seizing property they owned.

Nicol Sheppard, Assistant Director in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:

“This house sale is a great result for taxpayers and it shows our work does not stop with a prison sentence. It is our job to make sure taxpayers get their money back.

“We’ve recovered more than £10 million from these two men, and we’ll carry on looking for more assets. Any we find will be sold to recover the money they stole with interest.

“Anyone with information about suspected tax fraud can report it to HMRC online.”

During sentencing in 2007 the judge described the duo as ‘complete liars and devious’ and said they has ‘created a smokescreen to hide the value of your assets and conceal this from HMRC’.

Notes to Editors

1. Several other homes owed by Syed and Shakeel were sold by HMRC, including:

• Flat in Battersea Reach, London. This property realised £420,000.
• A house in Langley that realised £660,000.
• A flat In Knightsbridge that realised £3,450,000.
• A house in Northwood, Middlesex that realised £1million.

2. Syed Ahmed and Shakeel Ahmad were responsible for VAT fraud as part of a Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud (MTIC) organised crime gang (OCG) they were members of. The OCG comprised 21 individuals who received sentences totalling 74 years.

3. MTIC fraud takes advantage of this intra-community trading deal. When a company buys products from an EU supplier it is VAT free. Then, the company sells the goods on to their customers, adding VAT to the sale price. During MTIC fraud, the trader then disappears without declaring the VAT or paying a VAT bill. Instead, they have pocketed the money and become a ‘missing trader’.

4. An HMRC spokesperson is available for interview.

5. Anyone with information about any type of tax fraud is encouraged to report it online.

6. Follow HMRC’s Press Office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice.