Barrister Jailed for five years after £17.5m fraudulent VAT claim

John Wilmot, a Nigerian barrister, has been jailed for five years at Southwark Crown Court after making fraudulent VAT repayment claims totalling £17.5m. Wilmot claimed to have sold aircraft engines mane by a UK company to an Iraqi businessman for £100m. A search of his office, where he had also been living, in Temple Avenue, London, uncovered a laptop which had been used to create purchase and sales invoices, export documents and contracts.

Checks by HM Revenue & Customs revealed that the ship which Wilmot claimed had carried the engines to Iraq was actually carrying a cargo of beans to the Black Sea. The aircraft engines, which Wilmot claimed to have sold for £25m each, were valued at less than £5m on the manufacturer’s website.

The Iraqi national involved, who Wilmot names as “Mr Al Majari of Basra” could not be traced.
One of the VAT numbers he used was a redundant number belonging to the Argos Catalogue Company.
Wilmot was also unable to show any bank accounts relating to payment for the engines.
Passing sentence, Her Honour Judge Taylor said “It was an audacious attempt to obtain a large amount of money by fabricating evidence.”

Wilmot was recommended for deportation at the end of his sentence and disqualified as a company director for eight years. Robert Gray, assistant director at the Criminal Investigation Directorate of HMRC, said “Wilmot is a barrister – he was in a position of knowledge and trust. He 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 our rigorous checking of VAT repayment claims together with the diligence of local staff.”

{Source: Solicitors Journal, 8th July}