Gift Aid fraud serves an accountant six year sentence
Abu Talib Ghadiri, an accountant from Harrow, has been jailed for six years due to a £400,000 Gift Aid and VAT fraud following an HMRC investigation.
His accomplice and brother Mohsin Raza was sentenced to a four years.
Less than a month ago they were also found guilty for operating a Gift Aid fraud scam. Two charities falsely claiming they were helping victims of natural disasters in Pakistan.
VAT compliance checks and VAT repayment claims discrepancies prompted the HMRC investigation.
They also found the following:
- Salih Ozbay, an associate of Ghadiri and company secretary of Smart Price Builders, had submitted a false VAT repayment claim to HMRC for £69,442. Found guilty at Harrow Crown Court and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
- Ghadiri, also made VAT repayment claims linked to seven bogus companies worth £47,000.
Ghadiri claimed his estranged ex-girlfriend had set up the companies, despite being registered to his home address and his National Insurance Number being connected to each account.
His girlfriend however, claimed this was a tall tale to avoid being caught.
Investigators uncovered the evidence that proved Ghadiri and Raza were also committing Gift Aid fraud and in a separate fraud, Salih Ozbay, an associate of Ghadiri and company secretary of Smart Price Builders, had submitted a false VAT repayment claim to HMRC for £69,442. Ozbay was also found guilty at Harrow Crown Court and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
HMRC also found that Ghadiri made false VAT repayment claims for £47,000, linked to seven bogus companies.
Ghadiri claimed that the companies had been set up by his estranged ex-girlfriend and he was not involved, despite his home serving as the registered address and his National Insurance number being connected to each of the company accounts.
Ghadiri’s former girlfriend told the court that Ghadiri was in control of the companies and was simply using her details to avoid getting caught.
As an accountant he would’ve been fully aware that this practice was unlawful, however many get fall into the same trap simply due to not getting the right advice.
Ensure you are getting the right advice.
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