Cartwright King Secures Aquittal in Fraud Case

Cartwright King secures acquittal after an 8-week tax fraud trial at Southwark Crown Court

Anthony Harris defended our client in Operation Centime, an HMRC criminal prosecution alleging a sophisticated conspiracy to cheat the Revenue of VAT to the tune of £12.8m between April 2014 and February 2017. The 41-day trial took place at Southwark Crown Court and resulted in the acquittal of our client and one other defendant and the conviction of the other 3 defendants. Counsel Sonal Dashani from 25 Bedford Row was instructed for the defence.

The prosecution case alleged that our client’s company had produced forged invoices from hi-jacked suppliers in relation to fast-moving retail goods, such as soft drinks and confectionery, which resulted in excess of £8m of VAT due on these items being paid to a company outside the UK thus causing the loss to the Revenue and a substantial gain for the instigators and organisers of the fraud who were never arrested. The case involved numerous forged documents supplied by the organisers of the fraud for the defendants to submit to the Revenue to suggest that their trading was genuine and extensive evidence from computers seized from the defendants’ companies.

Obtaining expert evidence in relation to the computer evidence produced by the prosecution and very careful analysis of the accounts and trading records of our client’s business.

Cartwright King’s specialist corporate and financial crime team can assist you with any Fraud, Tax, and Proceeds of Crime Act issues. Please contact us for expert legal advice and assistance.