West Yorkshire siblings including former HMRC employee sentenced for VAT fraud and money laundering

A former HM Revenue and Customs employee and his brother have been sentenced for VAT fraud and money laundering.
By Daniel Sheridan
Published 18th Jul 2019, 15:24 BST
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Shapal Yaqoob, 35, of Woodside Drive, Bingley, ran a car sales company and submitted false information to HMRC to steal £174,500 in VAT.

Investigators found he under declared business earnings to evade paying VAT between February 2008 and May 2015.

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His brother, Efzal Yaqoob, 34, of Whitby Road, Bradford, worked as a call centre advisor for HMRC at the time and helped him launder more than £21,630 of the stolen VAT.

Eden Noblett, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “These men were stealing and laundering money which should have been funding public services. This is theft from the taxpayer and undermines legitimate traders.

“There is no question Efzal should have known better than to think he could get away with laundering stolen money.

“We will continue to pursue criminals who think tax fraud is acceptable. We encourage anyone with information about tax crime to report it to HMRC online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”

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Shapal ran Evolution Cars from his home and an address on Whitby Road, Bradford.

He sold cars through online auction sites but lied to HMRC about how much he made to steal VAT.

He also evaded paying around £7,000 in Income Tax.

Efzal laundered £21,630 of the stolen VAT through his personal bank account between July 2012 and August 2014.

He worked for HMRC for nine years and resigned three months after his arrest, in June 2015.

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Shapal Yaqoob admitted VAT and Income Tax fraud at Bradford Crown Court on 1 December 2017.

He was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for two years, and 300 hours unpaid work, at the same court on 15 July 2019.

Efzal Yaqoob admitted money laundering at Bradford Crown Court on 26 April 2019.

He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Information about any type of tax fraud can be reported to HMRC online at https://www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business.