Counterfeit clothes bosses convicted of fraud worth more than £150m
A member of the criminal gang was caught with fake goods while driving on the A74 in Dumfries and Galloway
The mastermind of a fake designer clothing scam has been convicted of one of the UK’s largest ever carousel tax frauds.
Sock manufacturer Arif Patel, 55, of Preston, and his criminal gang tried to steal £97 million through VAT repayment claims on false exports of textiles and mobile phones.
They also imported and sold counterfeit clothes that would have been worth at least £50 million, had they been genuine. The proceeds were used to buy property across Preston and London through offshore bank accounts.
A key part of the prosecution’s case was when a member of the gang driving a van full of counterfeit clothes was stopped by Scottish police officers on the A74 near Ecclefechan in Dumfries and Galloway in August 2005.
Inside the van were a huge variety of ripped off brands, including Calvin Klein, Walt Disney, Nike, Prada, Emporio Armani, Lacoste and Levi Strauss.
Arif Patel was yesterday (11 April 2023) found guilty of false accounting, conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, the onward sale of counterfeit clothing and money laundering.
Co-accused Mohamed Jaffar Ali, 58, of Dubai, was also found guilty of conspiracy to cheat the Revenue and money laundering yesterday.
The convictions follow a 14-week trial at Chester Crown Court.
Reporting restrictions have now been lifted and it can be revealed for the first time that 24 members of the criminal empire were convicted in five trials between 2011 and 2014 and jailed for a total of more than 116 years.
HMRC has also restrained more than £78 million of the gang’s UK assets and proceedings are now underway to recover these funds for the public purse.
Richard Las, Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “These guilty verdicts close a significant chapter in one of the biggest tax fraud cases ever investigated by HMRC.
“For more than a decade HMRC and our partners have worked tirelessly and together to bring this gang to justice.
“Arif Patel lived a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the law-abiding majority. Tax crime is not victimless and fraudsters like this pair steal the money that funds the NHS and other vital public services we all rely on.
“Our work doesn’t stop here. We have more than £78 million of the gang’s UK assets restrained and have begun the process to recover all those proceeds of crime.”
Arif Patel travelled to Dubai in July 2011 and failed to return. He was tried in his absence at Chester Crown Court where he was found guilty of all charges yesterday, 11 April 2023.
He will be sentenced next month.