Two brothers, who stole more than £1.6m through tax fraud and by stealing from their employees to finance their luxury lifestyles, have been jailed at Croydon Crown Court today for six years, following a complex investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Haris and Adam Mukhtar, from Ilford, made £1.3m worth of fake VAT claims for various bogus companies, from chauffeuring to importing rice. Haris Mukhtar also told 200 of his own staff that £330,000 cash taken from their debit and credit cards was for national insurance and tax payments; Haris, described in court by the judge as “thoroughly dishonest” and “totally bent”, pocketed some of the cash for himself. HMRC specialist investigators prevented a further £320,000 being paid in other fraudulent VAT claims.
Haris and Adam bought themselves Lamborghinis and a hand-built Mercedes McLaren with their ill-gotten cash. The brothers, who shared a home, filled it with high-spec televisions, buying one for every room in the house.
John Pointing, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said:
“Criminals such as this are menaces who steal from honest taxpayers. HMRC is cracking down on fraud and the Government has made a further £900 million available to us for tackling evasion, avoidance and attacks by criminal gangs.”
Confiscation proceedings against both brothers are ongoing.