Accountant fined for blocking investigation

In a historic first for HMRC an accountant who refused to co-operate with a tax fraud investigation has been fined £25 000 under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act. He was warned that if he did not pay the fine within 28 days he would face 18 months in prison.

The accountant Anil Shah 66 from Middlesex refused to assist officers who were investigating suspected tax evasion by his clients despite being served with disclosure notices. When challenged by investigators he made several statements that were found to be untrue. These included saying that he did not act for particular clients when he did.

Simon York director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service said: ‘As a professional accountant Shah’s role was to offer sound advice to his clients and comply with HMRC regulations. Instead he abused his privileged position knowingly broke...