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Or rather http://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1665155.0.man_held_over_20m_fraud.php explains why, as I mentioned in http://oh-pooh.livejournal.com/83392.html, my local station carp ark was a bit full t'other morning.
MAN HELD OVER £20m FRAUD
By Frances Kindon
A NORTHWICH man suspected of being part of a major £20million VAT fraud operation has been seized in a series of dawn raids.
HM Revenue and Customs swooped in the early hours of Tuesday, arresting 16 people in total across the north west.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is being questioned by investigators on suspicion of VAT missing trader' fraud - an offence that cost Customs between £2billion and £3billion last year alone.
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Missing trader fraud involves buying low-volume, high-value goods such as mobile phones and computer chips VAT-free in other European Union member states and selling them on to UK businesses at a VAT-inclusive price.
The traders then default or go missing', pocketing the VAT owed to Customs.
The man is thought to be part of an organised crime group operating a network of companies that carousel' large quantities of mobile phones, trading them around contrived supply chains meaning they re-enter the UK over and over, earning the criminals money in stolen VAT each time.
Codenamed Operation Vaulter, the arrests follow a 21-month investigation by HM Revenue and Customs into VAT fraud and money laundering.
Further arrests took place across England and Wales with officers using two sniffer dogs to search properties for cash.
Euan Stewart, director of operations for HM Revenue & Customs criminal investigations, said: "Tackling missing trader fraud is our top priority. We have a duty to protect the revenue given the scale and nature of the attacks we are seeing.
"The arrests are the result of a lengthy investigation by dedicated officers who work tirelessly, fighting criminal attacks on the tax system."
He added: "The sophistication of the organised crime gangs behind these frauds means that our investigations are increasingly complex but we are committed to bringing the criminals behind it to justice and to recovering the money stolen from the British taxpayer, wherever in the world our investigations lead. This is not victimless crime, it's organised crime that causes real harm."
Alice.
MAN HELD OVER £20m FRAUD
By Frances Kindon
A NORTHWICH man suspected of being part of a major £20million VAT fraud operation has been seized in a series of dawn raids.
HM Revenue and Customs swooped in the early hours of Tuesday, arresting 16 people in total across the north west.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is being questioned by investigators on suspicion of VAT missing trader' fraud - an offence that cost Customs between £2billion and £3billion last year alone.
advertisement
Missing trader fraud involves buying low-volume, high-value goods such as mobile phones and computer chips VAT-free in other European Union member states and selling them on to UK businesses at a VAT-inclusive price.
The traders then default or go missing', pocketing the VAT owed to Customs.
The man is thought to be part of an organised crime group operating a network of companies that carousel' large quantities of mobile phones, trading them around contrived supply chains meaning they re-enter the UK over and over, earning the criminals money in stolen VAT each time.
Codenamed Operation Vaulter, the arrests follow a 21-month investigation by HM Revenue and Customs into VAT fraud and money laundering.
Further arrests took place across England and Wales with officers using two sniffer dogs to search properties for cash.
Euan Stewart, director of operations for HM Revenue & Customs criminal investigations, said: "Tackling missing trader fraud is our top priority. We have a duty to protect the revenue given the scale and nature of the attacks we are seeing.
"The arrests are the result of a lengthy investigation by dedicated officers who work tirelessly, fighting criminal attacks on the tax system."
He added: "The sophistication of the organised crime gangs behind these frauds means that our investigations are increasingly complex but we are committed to bringing the criminals behind it to justice and to recovering the money stolen from the British taxpayer, wherever in the world our investigations lead. This is not victimless crime, it's organised crime that causes real harm."
Alice.
