VAT and benefit fraudsters gave millions to al-qaeda terrorists

TENS OF millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money, from a Uk-based scam that spanned two decades, was used to fund terrorists including the 7/7 London bombers and Osama bin Laden.

A network of British Asians stole billions of pounds of public money through VAT and benefit fraud, topping up their gains with mortgage and credit card fraud, it was reported in The Sunday Times.

One per cent of the group’s gains – £80 million – was funnelled to alqaeda, with funds reaching the Pakistani compound stormed by US special forces in the 2011 operation to kill Bin Laden. The group netted around £8bn in public funds alone – almost triple the annual government expenditure on MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

At least two years before the 7/7 attacks, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) identified ties between the gang and Shehzad Tanweer, one of the terrorists involved. At the time, senior HMRC officials declined to use their intelligence to neutralise the gang.

Court orders barring the identification of gang members convicted of fraud date back at least 10 years. One customs official claimed they were prevented from sharing intelligence with MI5 due to HMRC’S desire to keep tax records confidential. So far, no gang member has faced any terror charges.

An HMRC spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “HMRC does and always has passed information … to other law enforcement agencies and the intelligence services when dealing with serious crime or terrorism – taxpayer confidentiality doesn’t come into it.”