Notorious Crime Family Member Accused of Financing PS20 Million Tax Fraud

Strategic Insights -

A member of Britain's Clerkenwell Syndicate, Tommy Adams, is believed to have been involved in a PS20.8 million tax fraud scheme, marking a significant shift in the involvement of organized crime in white-collar crime. The gang, which dominated the London underworld through extortion, drug dealing, and money laundering, has been linked to at least 25 murders. Adams' alleged role in the tax fraud emerged during an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs, who bugged a meeting between the fraudsters in Manchester in 2013.

Key Takeaways:

  • Tommy Adams, a 67-year-old member of the Clerkenwell Syndicate, is accused of financing a PS20.8 million tax fraud scheme, involving company directors and accountants.
  • Adams was previously convicted of money laundering in 2017, laundering nearly PS250,000 from "criminal activity" between 2012 and 2014.
  • Warren Bartlett, a convicted member of an organized crime group, invested PS350,000 in the tax fraud scheme and used his company, Bartel Networks, to process PS6.5 million of the evaded VAT.
  • Twenty members of the operation have been convicted of money laundering or conspiracy to cheat the public revenue by inducing or facilitating the submission of false VAT returns between 2011 and 2014.
  • Judge Dafna Spiro described the conspiracy as "complex and highly sophisticated, involving numerous individuals, companies, strands, and layers."
  • The fraudsters used networks of companies around the world, including the UK, the US, the Czech Republic, Spain, Cyprus, Canada, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the Seychelles.
  • The conspiracy centred around a company called Winnington Networks Ltd, based in Crewe, Cheshire, which submitted 18 VAT returns, in which over PS20 million owed to HMRC was not paid.

Statistics:

  • PS20 million: The amount of tax owed to HMRC by the company at the centre of the conspiracy.
  • PS20.8 million: The amount of tax fraud committed by the conspiracy.
  • PS350,000: The amount invested by Warren Bartlett in the tax fraud scheme.
  • PS6.5 million: The amount of VAT evaded through the use of Bartel Networks.
  • 20 members: The number of individuals convicted of money laundering or conspiracy to cheat the public revenue by inducing or facilitating the submission of false VAT returns between 2011 and 2014.
  • 9 years: The length of sentence imposed on John Fenton and Neil Pursell, the owners and directors of Winnington Networks Ltd.

Sources:

  • The Telegraph, "Notorious crime family member accused of financing PS20m tax fraud" (no date)
  • The Times, "Tommy Adams: convicted money launderer accused of financing PS20m tax fraud" (no date)
  • Southwark Crown Court, "Prosecution evidence" (no date)
  • HM Revenue & Customs, "VAT evasion: PS20m tax scam exposed" (no date)