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Fraud

UK Tax Fraud Mastermind Ordered to Pay Back Over £90 Million

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Arif Patel, a key player in a massive carousel tax fraud, has been ordered to pay back over £90 million following a 14-week trial in 2023. Patel and his co-accused, Mohamed Jaffar Ali, were found guilty in their absence of fraud and money laundering offences. The convictions followed a joint investigation between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Lancashire Police, which secured jail sentences totalling over 116 years for 24 other gang members.

The £90 million confiscation order is one of the biggest ever recovered by HMRC, and the proceeds will be used to fund UK public services. Patel's properties, including a Ferrari 575 Superamerica, will be sold to help repay the debt. The gang's crimes funded a property empire across the UK, London, and overseas, with Patel owning properties in Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Key Takeaways:

  • Arif Patel has been ordered to pay back over £90 million after being found guilty in his absence of fraud and money laundering offences.
  • Patel's criminal gang imported and sold counterfeit clothes worth at least £50 million, had they been genuine.
  • £95 million of the £478 million recovered by the Crown Prosecution Service over the last five years has been returned to victims of crime as compensation.
  • Patel's Preston-based company, Faisaltex Ltd, was the heart of his criminal empire, running the counterfeit clothing import operation and false export business.
  • Mohamed Jaffar Ali, a Dubai-based co-accused, was also found guilty and received a confiscation order for £677,000.
  • Lancashire Police and HMRC worked together to bring confiscation proceedings to this point, securing one of the biggest criminal confiscations in history.
  • Patel will lose the property empire he amassed from criminal proceeds, which included commercial and residential premises in the UK, London, and overseas.

Statistics:

  • £90 million: the amount of money Arif Patel has been ordered to pay back.
  • 116 years: the total jail sentence for 24 gang members involved in the scam.
  • £478 million: the total amount recovered by the Crown Prosecution Service over the last five years.
  • £95 million: the amount of money returned to victims of crime as compensation.
  • 14 weeks: the duration of the trial in 2023 where Patel and Ali were found guilty in their absence.
  • 2023: the year where Patel and Ali were found guilty in their absence.

Sources:

  • Richard Las, Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC.
  • Mark Winstanley, Assistant Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary.
  • Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Division.
  • HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
  • Lancashire Police.
  • Crown Prosecution Service.

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