£1.1m seized from ice cream boss who failed to pay tax for 18 years
PERSICO FAMILY FAILED TO DECLARE PROFITS LINKED TO SUSPECTED CRIME
MORE than £1 million in assets have been secured from a Derby family business which had avoided paying tax for 18 years.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) says Tonino Persico, also known as Tony, avoided paying tax on his family-run business, which it was suspected of being linked to drugs and other criminal activity.
The 58-year-old and members of the wider Persico family operated ice cream vans and rented industrial units on Osmaston Road, in the city.
However, the Sinfin man did not pay tax on the profits of these businesses for 18 years, the NCA says.
Persico’s sister was jailed for conspiracy to produce cannabis in 2013 after a Derbyshire police investigation was launched into the family’s activities due to suspicions it was linked to drugs, fraud and money laundering.
The NCA asked HMRC to investigate whether significant income had been generated through criminal conduct.
It found that Mr Persico had received rental and other income from industrial units at 555 Osmaston Road, and subsequently owed £1,135,857.82 in income tax, National Insurance payments, interest and penalties between 1999/97 and 2013/14.
The NCA says Mr Persico did not respond to its claim, and on November 1, 2017, it obtained a default judgement from the courts.
It then applied for the High Court to enforce the debt against assets belonging to Mr Persico, as no payment had been made.
It said this was complicated by the complex structures of the businesses involved.
One company, Osmaston Business Park Ltd had Mr Persico’s niece as the sole shareholder when she was just 16 years old, according to the National Crime Agency.
The NCA alleged in High Court that the company was in fact owned by Mr Persico.
On Tuesday, December 21, the High Court granted the NCA a final charging order over the property at 555 Osmaston Road, meaning that it cannot be sold without Mr Persico settling the debt or paying over the sale proceeds.
In her judgment, Mrs Justice Foster DBE stated that the case fell fair and square into the “concealment” category, that the true beneficial owner of the property was Tony Persico and she granted the Charging Order over the property in satisfaction of the tax debt.
The NCA has already previously obtained Charging Orders over three other properties located at 555 Osmaston Road in which Mr Persico held an interest, in satisfaction of his tax debt.