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John
Wilmot's claims that he was not knowingly involved in the
attempted VAT fraud were rejected during the trial at
Southwark Crown Court.
Judge
Taylor, said in passing sentence that it was an audacious
attempt to obtain a large sum of money by fabricating
evidence.
Wilmot,
a Nigerian national, was also recommended for deportation upon
completion of his sentence and was also disqualified as a
company director for eight years.
Repayment
claim
Robert
Gray, assistant director at the Criminal Investigation
Directorate, said that Wilmot chose to abuse his privileged
position to mount an extremely serious attack on the VAT
system.
“This
massive fraud would have worked were it not for HM Revenue
& Customs's (HMRC) rigorous checking of VAT repayment
claims together with the diligence of local HMRC staff,” he
added.
Wilmot
claimed to be a barrister specialising in shipping, aviation
insurance and international tax laws. He was arrested
following an investigation triggered by his first VAT return
as a repayment claim for over £17.5 million.
Discrepancies
on his VAT return triggered checks and a call on his Temple
Chambers offices by an HMRC VAT officer.
Wilmot
tried to explain that the massive VAT repayment claim was due
to the £100 million purchase of jet engines from a UK
company, Aircraft Unit Engineering Ltd, which he had sold to
an Iraqi businessman.
He
also claimed the engines were shipped on the Heroi
Strakhorskyi, from Southampton on 12 December 2006 for the
port of Umm Quasr, Iraq.
VAT
number belonged to Argos
Wilmot
provided paperwork for sales and shipping but was unable to
show any bank accounts relating to payment for the engines.
Further
enquiries showed the VAT number on the invoice from Aircraft
Unit Engineering Ltd was a redundant VAT number belonging to
the Argos Catalogue company.
The
Aircraft Unit Engineering company does exist but its declared
VAT returns show its sales are not of the magnitude of the
alleged sale to Wilmot.
A
search of the manufacturer's website for the jet engines
revealed they are valued at around $9 million (approximately
£4.8 million each), considerably below the £25 million which
Wilmot claimed to have sold them.
The
Heroi Stakhorskyi departed Southampton docks on 12 December
2006 but the ship manifest recorded its cargo as new crop
beans but no engines.
The
ship was bound for the Black Sea via Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt
and Turkey not the Iraqi port of Umm Quasr.
Trade
fair
Wilmot
claimed he arranged the deal through an Iraqi national, Al
Majari of Basra, and that he found a supplier by visiting a
trade fair in Excel in London, and that he had arranged to
inspect the engines in a London warehouse.
A
search of Wilmot's office, where he had been living, uncovered
a laptop computer which was forensically examined and found to
have been used in the creation of the purchase and sales
invoices, export documents and contracts.
Wilmot
explained this by saying that he had scanned the invoices when
he received them. Forensic examination showed the laptop had
been used to create them.
The
company in Croydon that allegedly sold Wilmot the engines
stated that they had never heard of him, nor do they sell
aircraft engines, nor exhibited at the Excel centre. Al Majari
has never been traced. Wilmot had pleaded not guilty to VAT
fraud.
The
case was prosecuted on behalf of HMRC by The Revenue &
Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) which was created by Royal
Assent on 7 April 2005 and is an independent prosecuting
authority reporting directly to the Attorney General.
Source
: Director of Finance online - UK, dated 01/07/2008
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