Arif Patel , an Indian-origin businessman and the mastermind behind one of the UK’s largest fake designer clothing and VAT frauds, has been ordered to repay over £90 million following his 2023 conviction.
The 57-year-old, from Preston in north-west England and now residing in Dubai, was found guilty of false accounting, conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, and money laundering.
On Thursday, the crown prosecution service (CPS) announced that Chester crown court granted a confiscation order against Patel, allowing authorities to sell his assets to recover the stolen funds.
“The CPS has worked robustly with HMRC [His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs] and Lancashire Police to ensure that Arif Patel could not keep the benefit from his fake counterfeit designer clothes scam and fraudulent VAT claims,” said Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, as reported by PTI.
Foster added, “In total, he must pay back more than 90 million pounds or have more prison time added to his original sentence. In the last five years, 478 million pounds have been recovered from CPS-obtained confiscation orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. Over 95 million pounds of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.”
According to UK prosecutors, Patel and his criminal network stole £33.4 million from the British government through false VAT repayment claims on fake exports of textiles and mobile phones. They also imported and sold counterfeit designer clothes valued at over £19.19 million, using a “sophisticated chain of sham companies to cover their tracks.”
Proceeds from the fraud were used to purchase properties across Preston and London through offshore bank accounts.
“Arif Patel lived a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the law-abiding majority, but he will now lose the property empire he amassed from the proceeds of crime,” said Richard Las, director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service. “Our work never stops at conviction. For the last two years, we’ve worked with police and CPS partners to secure one of the biggest criminal confiscations we’ve ever recovered. Tens of millions of pounds of stolen money will now go back to directly fund public services.”
Patel was sentenced in absentia to 20 years’ imprisonment for tax fraud following a trial in April 2023. In total, 26 members of his criminal network were convicted over six trials between 2011 and 2023, receiving prison sentences totaling 147 years and seven months.
“Arif Patel was the head of a Preston-based organised crime group responsible for causing millions of pounds worth of losses to multiple companies. His actions, motivated by greed, directly impacted the taxpayer,” said Mark Winstanley, assistant chief constable from Lancashire Police, reported PTI.
According to HMRC, Patel fled to Dubai in July 2011 and has not returned to the UK since before his conviction and sentencing.
The 57-year-old, from Preston in north-west England and now residing in Dubai, was found guilty of false accounting, conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, and money laundering.
On Thursday, the crown prosecution service (CPS) announced that Chester crown court granted a confiscation order against Patel, allowing authorities to sell his assets to recover the stolen funds.
“The CPS has worked robustly with HMRC [His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs] and Lancashire Police to ensure that Arif Patel could not keep the benefit from his fake counterfeit designer clothes scam and fraudulent VAT claims,” said Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, as reported by PTI.
Foster added, “In total, he must pay back more than 90 million pounds or have more prison time added to his original sentence. In the last five years, 478 million pounds have been recovered from CPS-obtained confiscation orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. Over 95 million pounds of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.”
According to UK prosecutors, Patel and his criminal network stole £33.4 million from the British government through false VAT repayment claims on fake exports of textiles and mobile phones. They also imported and sold counterfeit designer clothes valued at over £19.19 million, using a “sophisticated chain of sham companies to cover their tracks.”
Proceeds from the fraud were used to purchase properties across Preston and London through offshore bank accounts.
“Arif Patel lived a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the law-abiding majority, but he will now lose the property empire he amassed from the proceeds of crime,” said Richard Las, director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service. “Our work never stops at conviction. For the last two years, we’ve worked with police and CPS partners to secure one of the biggest criminal confiscations we’ve ever recovered. Tens of millions of pounds of stolen money will now go back to directly fund public services.”
Patel was sentenced in absentia to 20 years’ imprisonment for tax fraud following a trial in April 2023. In total, 26 members of his criminal network were convicted over six trials between 2011 and 2023, receiving prison sentences totaling 147 years and seven months.
“Arif Patel was the head of a Preston-based organised crime group responsible for causing millions of pounds worth of losses to multiple companies. His actions, motivated by greed, directly impacted the taxpayer,” said Mark Winstanley, assistant chief constable from Lancashire Police, reported PTI.
According to HMRC, Patel fled to Dubai in July 2011 and has not returned to the UK since before his conviction and sentencing.
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