A SECRETARY who claimed £2.5 million in an elaborate tax scam has been jailed for five years.
Israr Ul Haq Javid was also banned from being a company director for 10 years after crating fictitious companies to claim back VAT.
The 43-year-old worked for Blueridge Brokers Ltd, which traded in high value computer components. He created bogus invoices to reclaim VAT paid on the purchase of £21m worth of computer parts from two British companies.
Investigations by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) revealed that neither company existed, and that the computer parts had been purchased in the Republic of Ireland.
Shortfall
VAT regulations current at the time of the offences meant that Blueridge Brokers Ltd was liable to account for “acquisition tax” on their VAT return. But by falsely claiming that the parts originated in the UK, there was a £2.5 million shortfall of tax paid.
HMRC Assistant Director of Investigation in Scotland, David Odd said: “This was a blatant attempt by Javid to steal millions of pounds from taxpayers, which he then tried to hide by moving it to a bank account abroad.
“HMRC is committed to targeting tax fraud and ensuring that that there will be a ‘day of reckoning’ by recovering any financial gain criminals make from attacking the VAT system.”
