HMRC’s Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) Unit secured convictions totalling 67 years of prison time for tax evaders in 2020/21, nearly treble the total of just 23 years secured the year earlier, says law firm Pinsent Masons.
The increase in prison sentences is said to be a sign that HMRC’s strategy of using targeted criminal investigations, rather than just civil penalties, as a powerful deterrent to address deliberate conduct including professional enabling and tax evasion by high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals is bearing fruit.
The OCW Unit was established in the wake of the ‘Panama papers’ scandal in 2016 to investigate serious non-compliance by businesses and the wealthiest taxpayers. The unit is part of HMRC’s specialist fraud investigation service, and is responsible for the most complex and high-risk matters investigated by HMRC, including combating international tax evasion and professionals who deliberately enable others to evade their liabilities.
Andrew Sackey, partner at Pinsent Masons, said: ‘The perception that wealthy people who evade tax only get financial penalties is increasingly untrue. The OCW Unit is now regularly completing painstaking criminal investigations of the most complex and serious forms of tax evasion, resulting in convictions and significant prison time.’
HMRC’s Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) Unit secured convictions totalling 67 years of prison time for tax evaders in 2020/21, nearly treble the total of just 23 years secured the year earlier, says law firm Pinsent Masons.
The increase in prison sentences is said to be a sign that HMRC’s strategy of using targeted criminal investigations, rather than just civil penalties, as a powerful deterrent to address deliberate conduct including professional enabling and tax evasion by high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals is bearing fruit.
The OCW Unit was established in the wake of the ‘Panama papers’ scandal in 2016 to investigate serious non-compliance by businesses and the wealthiest taxpayers. The unit is part of HMRC’s specialist fraud investigation service, and is responsible for the most complex and high-risk matters investigated by HMRC, including combating international tax evasion and professionals who deliberately enable others to evade their liabilities.
Andrew Sackey, partner at Pinsent Masons, said: ‘The perception that wealthy people who evade tax only get financial penalties is increasingly untrue. The OCW Unit is now regularly completing painstaking criminal investigations of the most complex and serious forms of tax evasion, resulting in convictions and significant prison time.’
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