Accountant fined for his role in blocking HMRC investigation.
James appeared for the Crown in the first prosecution of an accountant who had been served with a Disclosure Notice pursuant to section 62 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Disclosure Notices compel individuals to co-operate with investigations by producing documents, information and answering questions. Anil Shah, 66 an accountant based in Middlesex, acted for businesses who were being investigated for VAT fraud. He repeatedly sought to evade being served with the Notice and when he finally responded, he lied and falsely stated that his involvement was limited to providing payroll services, when in fact he and his company provided a whole range of services to the businesses under investigation. In the words of the sentencing judge, the defendant’s actions impeded the proper, efficient and fair investigation and prosecution of serious crime. He was sentenced to a fine of £25,000.
James case was reported in the FTAdviser. Click here to read the article.
