Abbas Lakha KC successfully secured a suspended sentence for a client charged with Tax Fraud of over £3.6 million.
The Defendants were two very successful Yorkshire based property developers, accused of a complex tax fraud, which concerned the transfer of shares holding a valuable development site (valued at in excess of £11 million) into various offshore entities, including Gibraltar and the BVI to evade a resulting £3.6 million Tax bill.
The HMRC investigation was triggered by the infamous 2016 Panama Papers scandal, which involved 11.5 million documents being leaked from the former Panamanian offshore law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca.
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) then commenced action, initially invoking the COP 9 procedure, but when the Defendants failed to engage, HMRC commenced criminal proceedings.
The Defendants were expected to receive prison sentences in excess of 6 years, but through settlement discussions, walked away with suspended sentences and no further enforcement action under Proceeds of Crime Act.
