1. Two convicted tax fraudsters must repay £92.3m to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in
its biggest ever confiscation order.
Syed Ahmed of Buckinghamshire and Shakeel Ahmad of Middlesex must repay the sum within two
months, and face an additional ten years to their prison sentences, as well as having to repay the
money, if they do not comply. Both are currently serving seven year jail terms for major roles they played
in a complex VAT fraud.
The two men were members of a 21-strong criminal tax fraud gang that dishonestly manipulated the VAT
system through the import and export of computer processing units (CPUs). Using highly complex chains
of VAT registered companies in the UK and abroad, the gang stole £37.5m which was used to build
blocks of flats in Dubai and purchase luxury London houses and high performance cars.
Prosecuting, his Honour Lord Justice Richard Flaux said: “You are both complete liars and devious.
“You are adept at using others in an attempt to make your activities legitimate, creating a smokescreen
to hide the value of your assets and conceal this from HMRC.”
The gang defrauded HMRC by importing CPUs from Ireland VAT free, which were then sold on at a
cheaper price, but with VAT added, through a chain of companies involved in the plot and with sham
invoices issued. The goods were then exported back to the EU through “missing traders” at a VAT
registered business, after being sold on a number of times. After exporting the CPUs the gang claimed
back VAT credit for the VAT paid on the purchase of the goods.
The gang then divided the profits and laundered them in bank accounts in the UK and overseas. The
account holders would then withdraw the bulk of the cash, for which they were paid a commission.
Richard Meadows, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: “This is the largest ever
confiscation order secured by Revenue & Customs at the end of one of our most complicated
investigations. I believe it to be one of the largest confiscation orders in the UK to date.
“We are determined to bring to justice the criminals behind this type of fraud and take away the proceeds
of their crime. We have worked very closely with the West Midlands Regional Asset Recovery Team
(RART) and law enforcement agencies across the world to bring this case to a successful conclusion.”

2. Conman Anthony Lee, who swindled £1m out of investors by trying to sell the Ritz hotel,
was using the funds from the fraud to pay off and annul his previous bankruptcy it has
been revealed.
Lee successfully targeted wealthy investors by pretending he had access to a contract to buy one of
London’s most famous hotels and its owners, the famously secretive billionaire Barclay brothers, who
also own the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Lee, 49, told businessman Terry Collins he could snap up the desirable hotel at a cut-price of £200m and
then immediately sell it on for £250m, but he would need £1m up-front to keep the deal exclusive.
Collins gained financial backing from Dutch billionaire financier Marcus Boekhoorn, of Apvodedo, telling
him that the reclusive Barclay brothers had “secretive” reasons for selling The Ritz through a third party.
The former lorry-driver also promised to hand over 27 boxes of sale documents entitling Collins to the
deeds of the hotel but once money was transferred Lee vanished.
Having obtained the £1m, Lee sought to apply £125,000 of the cash to discharge his liabilities and annul
his bankruptcy, thereby creating mitigating circumstances for the period of any bankruptcy restrictions
order.
He was only thwarted in his efforts when Bokehoorn’s solicitors highlighted fraudulent actions. The
Insolvency Service said: “He dishonestly represented to the Official Receiver that he was the owner of
the money held to his order in his solicitors’ client account.”
Lee also immediately transferred £435,000 of swindled cash to his friend Patrick Dolan, 68, who blew the
lot in a couple of days on “having a good time.” The court heard the Irishman took out up to €40,000 in
cash a day (then worth about £27,000) for gambling and lost €185,000 euros (about £125,000) on the
horses. He also bought a £42,000 Mercedes and paid off his 46,000 euro (about £31,000) mortgage.
Boekhoorn has sued Lee for the money and the case is set to progress to a full trial.
Remanding him in custody, Judge Stephen Robbins said Lee faces an “immediate and quite substantial
custodial sentence” on July 27.
During the four-week trial, Lee, an undischarged bankrupt who had a police caution for theft and was
behind with his rent at the time of the scam, insisted he was just a “straight-talking Yorkshireman”.
Lee was initially made bankrupt in 2004 after he sold a crane he had obtained on hire-purchase for a
£7,000 profit without the knowledge or authority of the hire company – who still legally owned the crane.

3. A former Halliwells solicitor has been struck off after embezzling over £90,000 from the
firm's clients.
A former Halliwells solicitor has been struck off after embezzling over £90,000 from the firm's clients.
Martin Roberts, of Bolton, Lancashire, was found guilty of re-directing client monies into his own account
and that of a fellow associates during his stint as a real estate lawyer in the firm's Manchester office.
Roberts had recently transferred to another law firm when his behaviour came to light. As well as
scamming clients, the court found that he had also been stealing money by overcharging for Land
Registry tax. According to papers, seen by Insolvency News, he had also sent letters to HM Revenue
and Customs “knowing the content to be untrue.”
Roberts’ activities came to light during a time when he was absent from the office due to ill health in June
2007. Following an investigation it was revealed that he had sent an invoice to a client– housing
developer Cliveden Homes – requesting for £22,000 to be paid directly to him. But the developer paid
the money straight to Halliwells and on receiving the money the firm’s accounts department could not
match it to any invoice. An investigation discovered that Roberts had set up four files in the name of an
acquaintance who was unaware of his activities.
It emerged that he used these files to siphon client funds into bank accounts held by himself and a
relative of the acquaintance.
Halliwells, which is on the verge of entering administration, successfully applied to a court to have his
assets frozen when it uncovered his activities and a civil court ordered him to repay £70,000.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said during the review: “The respondent's course of conduct was
deliberate and carefully planned and the respondent acted dishonestly.”
The Tribunal has ordered Roberts to be struck off the roll of solicitors and has been ordered to repay
12,231 in costs. The Tribunal said that Roberts conduct had been “disgraceful.”
Halliwells had not responded at the time of going to press.
Last week it emerged the top 50 law firm had appointed administrators after hefty property costs battered
its balance sheet. The administrators are believed to be working on a sale of the business to rival law
firm Hill Dickinson.

4. A secretive tycoon at the centre of a £400m divorce battle is having his bankruptcy
investigated
A secretive tycoon at the centre of a £400m divorce battle is having his bankruptcy investigated.
Scot Young, a fixer to Russian oligarchs and British billionaires, has had his divorce battle splashed
across the papers for the past year after claiming he has no assets to pay his wife hundreds of
thousands of pounds in maintenance.
Young, 48, claimed in April he had already been subjected to one Revenue inquiry that ended with him
declaring himself bankrupt and owing £2m to the taxman. However, his wife Michelle Young has argued
he has hidden assets has handed a laptop with encrypted data over to authorities.
Young’s creditors, who are owed £20m, have appointed David Ingram and his partner Mike Gerrard as
joint trustees of bankruptcy.
Investigating officer, speaking exclusively to Insolvency News, said: “I am investigating the affairs of
bankruptcy and his deficiency of £25m. He says he has no assets and is penniless, which is a stark
contrast to what his wife is claiming.” Ingram said he will be speaking to Michelle Young and if he obtains
the laptop, he has his own forensic team to investigate any encrypted data.
Young, whose friends include retail mogul Sir Philip Green and owner of celebrity haunt The Ivy, Richard
Caring, is currently facing a suspended contempt of court sentence for failing to provide full information
in his divorce hearings.
If the investigating officer reveals the former multi-millionaire does have hidden assets, divorce
proceedings will resume and the wife will be entitled to claim her £27,000 a month in maintenance.

5. A HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) debt collection officer who stole nearly £85,000
from taxpayers has been jailed for two and a half years.
Geoffrey Eley, 44, from Redditch, Worcestershire, duped 15 taxpayers into believing they had paid their
debts by showing them photocopies of official HMRC receipts, and then pocketing their cash payments.
Eley, who worked at HMRC for almost 27 years, stole a total of £84,950 between 2001 and 2007 and
attempted to cover his tracks by crediting the accounts of those he conned with cheque payments
received from unconnected third party taxpayers. The individual amounts he stole ranged from £1,000 to
£28,904.
Joff Parsons, head of HMRC’s internal governance criminal investigations, said: "HMRC expects the
highest standards of behaviour from its staff. Eley abused his position of trust for personal gain.
“We will relentlessly pursue anyone who attempts to steal from public funds and they will face criminal
sanctions. HMRC has taken steps to ensure that this abuse can not be repeated. Corruption amongst
our staff is rare and will not be tolerated.”
Eley was sentenced at Hereford Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of theft and one count of
money laundering.