The Olympic Games

Everyone is working together to make the Olympic and Paralympic Games a great success, but there are some real issues employers need to start thinking about now. Your employees will fall largely into two groups:

those who plan to take time off during the Games because they hope to be:
a spectator: 6.6 million tickets were up for grabs and many people have a good idea of what events they will be attending.
a volunteer: the selection process to choose the 'games makers' has begun and successful applicants should be informed from early 2012
those who have no plans to take time off during the Games but may either:
hope to watch some tv or internet coverage while at work or may wish to discuss some sort of temporary flexible working arrangement
get fed up with all the fuss and any perceived favouritism shown to those with sporting interests

As the countdown to the Games continues, Acas will be publishing new and updated guidance to help you:

manage attendance: it's time to start talking to your employees about their plans. You may keep your policy simple - maybe have a 'first come, first served' policy for booking leave - but it may help to draw up some guidelines
work flexibly: whether or not you currently have flexible working in your business, it may be something to consider, even as a short-term measure
deal with performance issues: there may be problems around staff watching lengthy coverage via their computers. Why not plan for popular sporting events in advance - perhaps giving staff access to a tv during agreed times?
understand the legal rights of volunteers and the responsibilities you have towards them and how volunteering can help your business. Volunteering can help develop your employees' skills but you obviously need to protect your business interests. Many volunteers will be agreeing to ten days work, with three days training prior to the Games. You may decide to match an employee's leave with special leave.

Q&A on Volunteering
Employer
Q Three of my staff have got volunteer positions at the Olympics. I can only let one go. What's the best way of handling this?

A The key to avoiding potential misunderstanding or conflict is to have a clear policy in advance and communicate this to all staff - that way, everyone knows where they stand and you look after your business needs. Your policy need not be very complicated - a simple process of 'first come, first served' may be enough.
Q I have a member of staff who has got a volunteer place at the Olympics. Do they need to use their own holiday?

A Employees have no legal right to take time off for volunteering. You can decide to give paid or unpaid time off or, if not, the employee may wish to take annual leave. Many employers encourage their employees to volunteer to help develop their skills and give employees an agreed quota of paid days leave per year to volunteer - typically, about two days a year.
Q I have a member of staff who has got a volunteer place at the Olympics. Am I expected to pay for them while they volunteer?

A There is no legal right to be paid for volunteering. Volunteering is something employees often do because of their own interest, but increasingly employers are recognising the business benefits of volunteering - in terms of developing skills and supporting the local community. If your employee is taking special leave then it would be up to you to decide whether that will be paid or unpaid.
Employee
Q I've got a volunteer place at the Olympics but my boss won't let me have the time off.

A. There is no legal right to time off to volunteer. Your employer will need to look at their business needs when allocating time off. Check with your line manager if the company has a policy on volunteering. You may be able to reach a compromise - in terms of taking annual leave or unpaid leave for some of the days.
Q I've got a volunteer place at the Olympics but I don't quite have enough holidays left to take. Is there anything I can do?

A Discuss this with your employer, they may have a policy for employees wishing to volunteer as many businesses now actively encourage employees to get involved in community or charitable projects. Your employer may allow you time off, either unpaid or paid, or even match your annual leave with special leave.
Q Will I get paid if I volunteer at the Olympics?

A There is no legal right to be paid for time off from your employer for volunteering, however your employer may allow you special leave with or without pay, or you may wish to take paid annual leave.

Read about what Acas has been doing behind the scenes to help the Games run smoothly.
Training course - Managing the impact of the London 2012 games on the workplace

Acas has designed a training course for employers that gives guidance on the issues they may need to think through arising from the London 2012 Games such as planning staff holidays, working from home, and coping with difficult journeys to work. Details of the course can be found on our training page.

27/01/2012 15:13

Insolvency Service

Bankrupt jailed for six months for asset disposal

Mohammed Modhu, a bankrupt, has been sentenced to six months in prison by Luton Crown Court for removing £23,000 from his estate while undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, and failing to account for the same.

The case follows an investigation by The Insolvency Service and a criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Mr Modhu pleaded guilty to removing £23,000 from his account, which was part of the proceeds from the sale of a property to his brother, and for failing to account for the same. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for the removal and three months' imprisonment for the failure to account, to run concurrently. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards the costs of the prosecution.

Deputy Chief Investigations Officer Ian West from BIS said:

"This case is a clear indication of how seriously the courts take the actions of those who try to defraud their creditors and should be a warning to others."

Ins12/Coms/006

Notes
1. Mr Modhu of Luton was made bankrupt on 02 December 2008 upon the petition of Luton Borough Council for £7,140.65 for unpaid council tax.

2. As a bankrupt Mr Gordon was required by section 291 of the Insolvency Act 1986 to give the official receiver such inventory of his estate and such other information, and to attend on the official receiver at such times as the Official Receiver may reasonably require. This includes a duty to explain to the Official Receiver how pre-bankruptcy losses were incurred. It is a criminal offence to fail to provide a satisfactory explanation for losses to the Official Receiver. It is also an offence to remove property from your estate between the bankruptcy petition and the bankruptcy order, subject to the defence of having no intention to defraud or conceal

3. In sentencing Mr Modhu the judge, HHJ Kay QC, commented that Mr Modhu was someone who recognised the need to pay off debts owed, but preferred to pay friends rather than the council, showing a complete indifference to the bankruptcy petition.

4. The judge said that Mr Modhu had engaged in a persistent course of conduct that was thoroughly dishonest. He rejected the suggestion that the defendant's gambling addiction was such that he didn't recognise the need to pay off his debts, rather, the defendant had chosen not to pay, hidden his money, and lied for a long period about what he had done. He also said that the defendant's behaviour struck at the heart of bankruptcy proceedings.

© Crown Copyright 2010

Increase to Tribunal awards effective from 1 February 2012

An increased limit on Employment Tribunal awards for unfair dismissal came into force with effect from 1 February 2012.

The maximum compensatory award of unfair dismissal has risen from £68,400 to £72,300.

The maximum amount of a week's pay (used when calculating statutory redundancy pay (amongst other things)) has risen from £400 to £430.

10/02/2012 11:05

Insolvency Service

Manchester company wound up following Government investigation

A Manchester-based company claiming to sell franchise opportunities has been wound up in the public interest by the High Court following an investigation by Company Investigations of the Insolvency Service.

Advanced Media Information Limited (AMI) offered businesses and individuals an opportunity to sell advertising space on touch-screen kiosks in hotel foyers, enabling guests to access information on local amenities such as restaurants and bars.
The investigation found that AMI generated a turnover of more than £1.6m, of which £875,000 was paid to the current director, a former director and a senior sales person. Investigators found that the company failed to maintain, preserve or deliver adequate accounting records to explain these payments. In addition, the director did not cooperate fully with the investigators.
Businesses and private individuals who bought the advertising franchise paid between £10,000 and £20,000 in return for the right to sell advertising space on three company-owned kiosks, or a licence fee of £10,000 for outright ownership of a kiosk. AMI also received a commission on the advertisements sold.
AMI marketed itself on its own website, on other websites offering franchise opportunities and through a self-produced brochure "The Virtual Concierge", claiming that a single kiosk with 60 advertisers could generate an income of around £44,500 per annum.

Investigators found that nobody achieved that figure, that some franchisees earned nothing at all from their investment and that others had not even been provided with a kiosk many months after paying their fee. The investigators also found that franchisees were dissatisfied with the level of training and support received from AMI and that the company had terminated franchise agreements unreasonably.
Commenting on the case, Investigation Supervisor Scott Crighton said:
"AMI promoted itself as something it was not, selling franchises which did not deliver the advertised returns.
The Insolvency Service will pursue such companies and take steps to close them down."

Notes
1. Advanced Media Information Limited was incorporated on 25 January 2007 and had its registered offices at Hampton House, Oldham Road, Middleton, Lancashire, M24 1GT.
2. The petition was presented on 25 November 2011 under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the company was wound up by the court on 06 February 2012.
3. Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, carries out confidential enquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).
4. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession; deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures; assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees; provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds; and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice. Further information about the work of The Insolvency Service is available from www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency

© Crown Copyright 2010

Apologies to anybody who is receiving Spam e mails which purport to come from this website. I am not sending them and as you will note, the sender uses a weird combination of letters prior to the "@lease-a-finance-director.co.uk" part of the address.
I have contacted my ISP and have changed passwords etc in the hopes that it will cease.

09/12/2011 16:09

Insolvency Service

Cowboy builder sentenced to 16 months for identity fraud

Paul David Henstone, a former two-time bankrupt, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison by Warwick Crown Court for acting as a director while bankrupt and committing fraud by misusing an employee's identity.

Mr Henstone has also been disqualified from acting as a company director, managing or in any way controlling a company, for five years, following an investigation by the Company Investigations team of The Insolvency Service and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

At the hearing, Mr Henstone pleaded guilty to one count of acting as a director whilst bankrupt and three counts of fraud by false representation.

The court heard that on 24 November 2005, Mr Henson registered a company called Blackdown Construction Ltd and became a director. He was made bankrupt for a second time on 11 December 2006.

At the time, Mr Henson was warned by the Official Receiver that he would be committing an offence if he carried on as a director, but he did not to resign.

The court also heard that, on 14 March 2008, Mr Henstone registered a new company, Roc Construction and Roofing Ltd (Roc). In order to hide his position with this new company as he had been a bankrupt and had also been the subject of much adverse media scrutiny, he arranged for one of his employees to be appointed as a director without the employee's knowledge.

Mr Henson then opened three credit accounts with suppliers in this employee's name and used them, pretending to be him. None of the suppliers were aware that they were dealing with Mr Henstone. All believed they were dealing with a new director with no history of insolvency. Mr Henstone even signed a personnel guarantee pretending to be this employee. Roc was wound up on 30 September 2008 with a deficiency of over £15,000.

Deputy Chief Investigation Officer Glen Wicks from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills said:-

"This man is a serial cowboy builder who for many years has created mayhem throughout the West Midlands and devastated the lives of many people.

People who commit these types of offences need to know that BIS, the Insolvency Service and the courts will crack down on them severely".

Mr Recorder Hall sentencing Henstone at Warwick Crown Court said:

"I have to deter others like you to exposing members of the public to fraud such as this".

Notes
1. Mr Paul David Henstone's address was given as 4 Bankfiled Leamington Spa CV8 1BE. His date of birth is 11 June 1969. He was made bankrupt on 10 April 2000 and again on 11 December 2006. Both of these orders were made in the Warwick County Court.

2. In April 2007 he was prosecuted by Trading Standards for a number of offences. His second bankruptcy was discharged on 10 December 2007. On the same day a winding up petition was made against Blackdown and it was wound up on 28 Febuary 2008.

3. Offences:

* Acting as a director whilst prohibited, contrary to sections 11 and 13 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

* Fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.

* Fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.

* Fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.

© Crown Copyright 2010

UNITED KINGDOM
Financial Services

Rupinder Sidhu has appeared in court on charges of insider trading after allegations that close friend and AKO trader Anjam Ahmad passed him trading-strategy information which enabled him to spread bet and make about £500,000. Mr Sidhu denies the charges.
Caroline Binham
Financial Times, 30 November 2011

Following the conviction of Edward Davenport and two others in September, David McHugh, David Horsfall and Richard Stephens, have been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after operating Gresham Ltd as a sham business and fraudulently obtaining advance fee payments totalling more than £4 million.
Serious Fraud Office, 11 November 2011
Reports & Surveys

A report by the International Development Select Committee has called for changes to the way settlement agreements are structured and called on the Government to consult on proposals put forward by the SFO that could facilitate plea bargains.
Jonathan Russell
The Daily Telegraph, 30 November 2011
NORTH AMERICA
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The SEC has charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee David Kugel with fraud for his role in creating fake trades to facilitate the massive Ponzi scheme.
SEC press release 2011-247, 21 November 2011

The SEC has charged Garfield M. Taylor and several family members and friends with conducting a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
SEC press release 2011-246, 18 November 2011

The SEC has charged hedge fund managers James N. Fry and Michelle W. Palm and their firm Arrowhead Capital Management LLC for facilitating a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme operated by businessman Thomas Petters.
SEC press release 2011-237, 9 November 2011

The SEC has obtained a record financial penalty of $92.8 million against billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam for widespread insider trading.
SEC press release 2011-233, 8 November 2011
Financial Services

Allied Home Mortgage and its founder, James Hodge, have been sued by US prosecutors for more than $2.5bn in damages for allegedly engaging in reckless lending practices that defrauded a federal insurance programme.
Kara Scannell
Financial Times, 1 November 2011
EUROPE
Pharmaceuticals

The European Medicines Agency is under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office over alleged conflicts of interest related to a scandal over the French diabetic drug Mediator.
Jeremy Laurance
The Independent, 15 November 2011
ASIA
Companies

Olympus faces allegations of making more than $1bn in acquisition-related payments after claims that money was used secretly to cover losses on investments dating back to the 1990s.
Jonathan Soble
Financial Times, 9 November 2011
Mishcon de Reya

Requiring employees to take statutory annual leave when not required to work

The Supreme Court has decided that an employer could insist that employees take their annual leave during their “field-breaks” which were spent onshore.

Background and facts

Under the Working Time Regulations (WTR), employers are entitled to require workers to take leave, or not to take leave, on certain days subject to the giving of notice to the worker.
In this multi-claimant and multi-respondent case, the employees worked on offshore oil and gas installations. The vast majority of claimants followed the industry custom of working on an offshore rig for two weeks and then spending two weeks onshore. The time spent onshore is known in the industry as a “field-break”.

The employees had minimal work-related activities during field-breaks and were not contractually required to carry out any duties.

The employees requested annual leave during their offshore working periods but were refused.

The Supreme Court had to consider whether the time that employees spent onshore should count towards the employees’ annual leave under the WTR.

Decision

The WTR provide for minimum rest periods consisting of daily rest, weekly rest and annual leave. The employees argued that “annual leave” meant a release from what would otherwise be an obligation to work. Therefore, the WTR required the employer to permit employees to take annual leave during periods when they would otherwise be required to work on an offshore installation.

The employers contended that the time spent offshore was a rest period since it was not “working time”. Since the time spent onshore, some 26 weeks a year, was substantially more than the minimum four weeks’ statutory leave entitlement under the WTR, there was no need for the employees to take annual leave out of the periods spent offshore.

The Supreme Court agreed with the employers and unanimously decided that they could insist that the employees take their paid annual leave during their onshore field-breaks. The Supreme Court decided that a “rest period” is any period which is not working time, irrespective of where the worker is and what he is doing, so long as it is a period when he is not working. The periods when the workers are on field breaks therefore plainly fall within that category. Therefore, the employers were entitled to insist that the workers take their paid annual leave during onshore field-breaks.

Comment

The Supreme Court’s decision will be welcomed by employers of atypical workers. The decision goes beyond applying to just oil and gas offshore workers. For example, it may well apply to employees on annualised hours contracts, seasonal workers or workers in the education sector (where staff are required to work on a term-time only basis).
The Supreme Court refused to make a reference to the European Court of Justice and therefore this is likely to be the final say on the matter.

19/12/2011 11:27

HM Revenue & Customs

Husband and wife tax fraudsters jailed

A husband, wife and their three daughters have been sentenced for their involvement in a multi million pound tax and money laundering fraud following a successful investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Isaac William (61) from London, who ran a business supplying security guards to the construction industry, was jailed for failing to declare £5m of business profits and not paying the correct amount of tax due. His wife Venus (54), and their three daughters Maria Gunasekara (33), Sylvia William (34) and Sophie William (26) were also sentenced for laundering £1.3m from the business into their own bank accounts.

Simon De Kayne, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), said:
“Isaac William failed to declare his company’s income or pay taxes of £1.1m from his business activities. The amount he owes now stands at £2.6m including interest. His wife and daughters then continued the web of deceit by laundering over £1.3m through their personal bank accounts. Their criminal activities ensured they were able to fund luxury lifestyles and further increase their wealth at the expense of the taxpayer. We will continue to pursue those involved in this type of criminal activity and bring them before the courts. We will now work to reclaim the proceeds of their crime.

“If anyone has information about individuals or business that may be involved in this type of crime, I urge them to contact the Tax Evasion hotline by calling 0800 788 887 or via the website www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion.”

HMRC investigators found that between 1999 and 2008 Williams’ businesses Solomon Co-Operative Services/Chris Solo Co-Operative Services (CSCS) and Euro Co-Operative Services received income of £6m. Isaac William submitted partnership, personal income tax, VAT and PAYE returns to HMRC declaring the income as £1m. Some of the undeclared profits were transferred from the business bank accounts into his wife’s and daughters’ personal accounts.

The family members used the money to finance the purchase of two properties in Pakistan, properties in the UK and several trips to Dubai and Pakistan. They withdrew large amounts of cash and transferred some of it into bank accounts they held in Dubai and Pakistan.

Isaac William pleaded guilty to ten counts of tax fraud on 10 May 2011 and was sentenced on 16 December 2011 at Kingston Crown Court.

Venus William and their daughters Maria Gunasekara, Sylvia William and Sophie William were all found guilty of money laundering offences on 13 October 2011, after a trial at Kingston Crown Court.

Confiscation proceedings are underway.

Notes
1. Isaac William (61) of St Nicholas Glebe, Rectory Lane, London SW17, born in Pakistan, pleaded guilty to ten counts of Cheating the Public Revenue contrary to Common Law (tax/VAT) on 10 May 2011. He was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on 16 December 2011 to four years imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.

2. Venus Rose William (54) a former childminder of St Nicholas Glebe, London SW17, born in Pakistan was found guilty on 13 October 2011 of a money laundering offence under section 327(1) Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 between February 2003 and September 2008. She was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on 16 December 2011.

3. Maria Gunasekara nee William (33) a former bank employee of Clarence Avenue, New Malden, Surrey, KT3, born in Pakistan, was found guilty on 13 October 2011 of a money laundering offence under section 327(1) Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 between May 2003 and September 2008. She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, at Kingston Crown Court on 16 December 2011. She was also ordered to undertake 100 hours community service.

4. Sylvia William (34) a former bank employee of Tiverton Road, Hounslow, Middx TW3 ,born in Pakistan, was found guilty on 13 October 2011 of a money laundering offence under section 327(1) Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 between May 2003 and September 2008. She was sentenced to ten months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, at Kingston Crown Court on 16 December 2011. She was also ordered to undertake 100 hours community service.

5. Sophie William (26) of St Nicholas Glebe, Rectory Lane, London SW17, born in Pakistan, was found guilty on 13 October 2011 of a money laundering offence under section 327(1) Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 between May 2003 and September 2008. She was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, at Kingston Crown Court on 16 December 2011. She was also ordered to undertake 150 hours community service.

© Crown Copyright 2010

20/12/2011 13:24

HM Revenue & Customs

£250 million fraudsters jailed

The 15th member of a gang involved in a £250 million VAT fraud using the supposed import and export of mobile phones, has been jailed today for nine years. Multi-millionaire Nasir Khan’s assets of £15million have also been restrained for his part in one of the UK’s largest ever ‘missing trader’ frauds.

Fourteen other career criminals were jailed for almost 90 years for their part in the conspiracy in five previous trials. Reporting restrictions on all six trials have now been lifted following the conviction of Khan who, using the alias Nasa Khan, made donations of £34,000 to Crimestoppers in 2008.
The ten year investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), codenamed Operation Euripus, revealed an intricate spider’s web of conspiracy as officers painstakingly unravelled the criminal network.

Chris Martin, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said:
“The scale of this operation was unprecedented when we carried out the initial raids in 2003. We had 350 officers visiting around 100 premises across the UK and Spain which led to the arrest of 42 people.
”VAT fraud is a serious crime which diverts vital income from the UK’s public services into the pockets of career criminals to fund their lavish and luxurious lifestyles. There are clear associations between this type of organised crime and violence, shootings, kidnap, extortion and drug trafficking. We will do everything in our power to put a stop to these sustained and determined criminal attacks against the taxpayer.”
He added: “This sends a clear signal to anyone involved or considering becoming involved in VAT fraud that the crime is serious and so are the penalties.”
The Court heard that on 2 July 2003, following a lengthy and painstaking investigation, HMRC officers carried out a series of coordinated arrests across the UK. The operation resulted in the seizure of over half a million documents and 130 computer hard drives.
Analysis of numerous documents and computers seized showed transaction chains, contacts between the defendants and how the organisation was carrying out fraudulent deals. Offshore bank accounts were identified showing monies being transferred from the UK and EU into accounts in Hong Kong, Pakistan and Dubai. The fraud was carried out over a two year period from June 2001 to July 2003.
On sentencing in this sixth trial His Honour Judge Loraine-Smith commented: “The level of profits were too great for you to resist. You had tried to paint yourself as a generous provider to charities and as a role model – in truth, you were nothing of the kind. You were close to the heart of the fraud and benefited greatly from it.”
Notes

1. Strict reporting restrictions have been in place during all six trials. They have now been lifted on the conviction of the defendant Nasir Khan at Southwark Crown Court, who was charged money laundering under the Criminal Justice Act 1988. All other defendants were charged with Conspiracy to Cheat the Public Revenue under the Criminal Law Act 1977. All where found guilty with the exception of Hughes who pleaded guilty.

2. Photographs are available of all defendants, the haul of ‘antique’ mobile phones as well as some of the high value assets restrained. A ‘crime chart’ depicting each defendant’s role in the fraud is also available.

3. Details of the defendant sentenced in trial six today 20 December 2011 at Southwark Crown Court, include:
* Nasir Khan, also known as Nasa Khan, (DOB 09.09.72), of 1102 Atlantic Suites, Gibraltar, was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was disqualified from holding a company directorship for ten years.

Khan was the owner of The Accessory People PLC, Cox Lane, Chessington, a business dealing in mobile phone accessories. However, as the accessory market declined around 2001, The Accessory People PLC began fraudulent wholesale trade in mobile phones, boosting turnover from £13million in 2002 to £219million in 2003, earning large profits for Khan. He bought luxury properties on the Thames at Putney Wharf, Chelsea Harbour, and in Spain and Gibraltar.
Confiscation Order: Proceedings ongoing. Assets of £15million have been restrained.

4. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial five on 19 April 2011 at Southwark Crown Court, include

* Jo-Anne Halliday, formerly Evans-Hulme, (19.01.70), of 57 The Wood, Weston Coyney, Staffordshire, was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison.

Halliday acted as a ‘buffer trader’ in a company selling to exporting companies. She used her business Precision Telecom Ltd, a VAT registered company, to put distance between the ‘missing trader’ and the exporter (‘broker’).
Confiscation Order: Proceedings ongoing.
* Curtis Laurent, (DOB 30.09.58), of 1 Cefn Rise, High Cross, Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison

Laurent was a director of SAVA Ltd, another buffer company inserted in the chains to add distance between the missing trader at the start of the chain, and the exporter at the end. SAVA Ltd often bought from the missing traders yet sent the proceeds to EU companies controlled by the criminal group.
Confiscation Order: Proceedings ongoing.
5. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial four on 26 November 2010 at Southwark Crown Court, include

* Dennis Hunter, (DOB 12.11.50), of Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Hunter was a principal player in the fraud and ran three Spanish companies, Consulting Triton Blanco SL, Total Network SL and Proft-Tech Canaries SL. These companies supposedly received wholesale quantities of mobile phones from the UK exporters, then sold them straight back to UK missing traders who failed to account for the VAT due. None of the consignments ever reached Spain. Hunter transferred the mounting profits to bank accounts held in Hong Kong and the UAE, controlled by the criminal group.
Confiscation Order: £1.62million – paid in full
* Peter Arthur Ebbrell, (13.03.51), formerly of 3 Abberton Way, Coventry, was sentenced to four years and five months in prison.

Ebbrell, a former second hand car dealer, ran the UK buffer company Trans-Global Electronics PLC. He bought large quantities of phones from UK missing traders, and sent the proceeds direct to EU companies controlled by, amongst others, Hunter, Apabhai and Amani.
Confiscation Order: £50,000 to be paid by March 2012 or serve a further 18 months in prison.
6. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial three on 14 January 2010 at Southwark Crown Court, include

* Hashib Ansari Apabhai, (DOB 20.04.60), of 1 The Gatehouse, Gatehouse Lane, Bedworth, near Coventry, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

Apabhai was an organiser of the fraud, working closely with his son, Eisa, and associate Adam Amani. He facilitated the opening of bank accounts and oversaw the running of a number of the EU companies from addresses in Coventry.
Confiscation Order: £495,000 – to be paid by December 2012 or serve a further three years in prison. Assets of £395,000 restrained.
* Adam Amani, also known as Mohammed Novsarka, (DOB 15.03.61), formerly of 216A Coventry Road, Exhall, Bedworth, near Coventry, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

Amani, was a close associate of Hashib and Eisa Apabhai. He ran Spanish companies Main Guy SL, Sistemas Electronicos Limitados SL, Cheer-io Primero SL, International Commodities SL, and a Dutch company Service Dienst Veenstra BV from a flat rented in a false name in Roland Avenue, Coventry. These companies supposedly bought large volumes of mobile phones and sold them back to UK missing traders. The accumulated profits were sent out to accounts in Hong Kong and the UAE.
Confiscation Order: £50,000 – to be paid by December 2012 or serve a further 12 months in prison.

* Eisa Masihullah Apabhai, also known as Raees Siddiqui, (DOB 30.11.80) of 1 The Gatehouse, Gatehouse Lane, Bedworth, near Coventry, was sentenced to six years in prison.

Apabhai worked closely with his father Hashib, and Amani, running the EU companies from the Roland Avenue address in Coventry, and opening bank accounts for these companies with Amani. He often used the false name Imran Sheikh.
Confiscation Order: £490,784 – money held in restrained bank account
7. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial two on 20 July 2009 at Southwark Crown Court, include

* German Castillo, (DOB 18/10/1964) of Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain, was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Castillo was a principal player in the fraud and spearheaded the multi million money laundering operation. His Spanish companies, GSM Fox SL, Autoimport MG 2000 SL, Liden Gold SL, Elec Canarias SL, Concepts S21 SL and Dutch company GCE Trade BV played a similar role to Hunter, purportedly buying huge volumes of mobile phones and selling them straight back to UK missing traders. He would transfer the mounting profits through numerous banks accounts of his various companies. Over £3 million could pass through his bank accounts in one day, with money trails leading from the UK to Spain and onto Hong Kong and Dubai.
Confiscation Order: £3million to be paid by May 2012 or serve a further nine years in prison.
* Jonathon Baigent, (DOB 25.01.66), formerly of 46 Munnings Drive, College Town, Sandhurst, Surrey, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Baigent, along with his personal and business partner Denise Westmoreland, played a series of important roles in the operation of this fraud. They operated companies which acted as exporters, as buffers and also as corrupt in-house freight forwarders. As freight forwarders, they provided bogus inspection reports for the mobile phones to help legitimise the chains of transactions. When the warehouse of his freight forwarder business, Beechill Logistics Ltd in Frimley, Surrey was raided by HMRC in July 2003, the stock was found to be of worthless broken and obsolete phones.
Confiscation Order: £40,000 to be paid by September 2011 or serve a further 12 months in prison.
Confiscation default sentence: Proceedings Ongoing
* Denise Westmoreland, (14.05.66), formerly of 46 Munnings Drive, College Town, Sandhurst, Surrey, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Westmoreland, along with her personal and business partner Baigent, played a series of important roles in the operation of this fraud. They operated UK buffer traders, an Irish company Dealatronics Ltd which sold to UK missing traders, and also had an in-house freight forwarder business, Beechill Logistics Ltd in an attempt to legitimise the fraud.
Confiscation Order: £10,000 – paid in full.

8. Details of the defendants sentenced in trial one on 12 September 2008 at Southwark Crown Court, include:
* Taher Majid, (18.06.72) of 56 Ty Draw Road, Roath Park, Cardiff, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

Majid was a principal player in the fraud. He registered pay as you go mobile phones in false names to give instructions to traders in the chains. He changed these phones monthly in an effort to avoid detection. Just prior to his arrest, he wiped the hard drive of his computer. However, HMRC digital forensic investigators were able to recover extracts from his hard drive, showing evidence of the fraud. Majid was a fish and chip shop owner with no overt connection to the mobile phone industry.
Confiscation Order: £3.5million to be paid by July 2012 or serve a further 10 years in prison.

* Abdul Koser, (DOB 05.01.66), of 146 Alexandra Road South, Cheshire, was sentenced to five years in prison. He was disqualified from being a company director for five years.

Koser acted as a ‘buffer trader’ in the fraud, using his company Kosco Communications Ltd to put distance between the ‘missing trader’ and the exporter in the fraud. He often made payments direct to the organisers controlling the EU bank accounts. When his bank closed his account, he utilised a corner shop/DVD business in Wilmslow, Manchester, called Gaff Video Stores to supposedly continue with the supply of mobile phones.
Confiscation Order: £800,000 to be paid by January 2011.
Confiscation Default Sentence: Currently serving a further four years in prison. He stills owes the money.
* Quentin Reynolds, (DOB 03.07.62), of 15 Herons Lea, Sheldon Avenue, North London, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. He was disqualified from being a company director for five years.

Reynolds acted as a ‘buffer trader’ in the fraud. He used his businesses, Electric Express Ltd, Multitask Communications Ltd and Falcon Media, to put distance between the missing trader and the exporter in the fraud. His companies often made payments direct to the EU companies. He also had a company called Interway Global Logistics which rented a warehouse in Alperton, London. This was to be another freight forwarder dedicated to legitimising the fraud. Reynolds was seen during surveillance driving a vehicle with number plate V1LAN.
Confiscation Order: £53,931 to be paid by July 2011 or serve a further 18months in prison.
Confiscation default sentence: Proceedings Ongoing
* Marcus Hughes, (DOB 08.09.70), of HMP Dovegate and previously of 14 Millers View, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty on 17 April 2008 and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was already serving a 12 year prison sentence for drug smuggling at the time of his conviction.

Hughes ran a buffer trader in the chains, Abbey Electrical Wholesale Ltd, but his main role was as an in-house freight company, Abbey Storage & Distribution at Blythe Business Park, Cresswell, Staffordshire. His role was to provide bogus stock inspection reports and store and move the consignments of phones. When HMRC searched the warehouse in July 2003 they again found obsolete phones and electrical junk, but also evidence of drugs importation. During the search, a delivery arrived by lorry for Hughes’ unit. A search of the lorry revealed a concealment of two tons of cannabis resin, ultimately resulting in Hughes’ drugs conviction.
Confiscation Order: £296,000 paid in full as a result of the drugs conviction.

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