Andrew Meeson, the former President of the Association of Taxation Technicians and three of his business associates who administered a pension scheme, have been charged with stealing £5million through a tax fraud targeting the pension industry.
The Government recognises the crucial importance of individual giving and charitable donations at times of humanitarian crisis such as the Pakistan floods and therefore understands and values people’s desire to give money. This underlines the importance of knowing that money sent with best intentions is not inadvertently finding its way into the wrong hands.
The Charity Commission, the independent charity regulator for England and Wales, has published advice for people who want to support those affected by the floods in Pakistan, whether by fundraising or by making a personal donation.
A London Chartered accountant faces eight years behind bars after being convicted of manipulating both his clients’ and his own tax returns, pocketing £11m in income tax and VAT payments.
Fraud losses cost the UK £30bn a year. The National Fraud Authority (NFA) has calculated the figure for the first time and said it equated to £621 per adult in the UK. Some 58% of fraud was in the public sector, at a cost of £17bn
40 police officers have been involved in the operation in the South-East of England which has led to a number of co-ordinated searches on four houses, the business unit of a gaming company and a solicitor’s office. Police officers have seized documents from the sites searched. As a result of the raids police have arrested four men on charges of conspiracy to defraud.
HM Revenue and Customs officers arrested 21 people in raids in a multi million pound construction industry fraud.
The arrests were made on suspicion of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and money laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Act was designed to take the profit out of crime, making it harder for money to be laundered and depriving criminals of their illicit wealth.
Following an OFT investigation into the sports retail market, it has been announced that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has now begun its own investigations into JJB Sports and Sports Direct.
JJB Sports revealed that it had stated its concerns about possible cartel activity in its market to the OFT which in turn has been granted immunity from any financial penalty in the event that competition rules have been broken.
Gangs are stealing taxpayers’ passwords and submitting claims for tax refunds to be paid to them, HM Revenue and Customs has warned.
A series of attempted fraudulent claims through the self-assessment repayments system has been discovered.
The FSA has banned Cornwall mortgage broker Stephen Sanders for submitting at least three mortgage applications on behalf of customers which he knew contained false and misleading income information.