Unlawful warrants?

Validity of decision to issue search and seizure warrants

Newcastle United Football Club challenged the legality of HMRC’s decision to apply for search and seizure warrants issued in connection with a criminal investigation of suspected evasion of VAT income tax and National Insurance on payments made to footballers and their agents. Known as Operation Loom the aim of the investigation was to find out whether the arrangements were structured so that a smaller fee appeared to be paid to a player’s agent and a larger fee to the club’s agent out of which the club secretly paid players and their agents.

Newcastle challenged the warrants on several grounds.

It claimed first there were procedural failings. The club said the judge had failed to give reasons for allowing HMRC to issue the warrants. The court agreed that this was ‘unfortunate’ but it did not amount to a procedural...