Forger jailed for VAT fraud of £180k

A MAN who carried out a VAT fraud totalling £180,000 to repay money he had made as a banknote forger has been jailed for more than two years.

John Farrell, 61, used fake passports and driving licences to set up bogus companies and bank accounts to fraudulently claim VAT repayments, an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation found.

He laundered £75,000 through a bogus Cypriot account before using it to pay most of a £96,000 confiscation order imposed after he was jailed for five years and eight months for running a counterfeiting operation at a factory in East Kilbride producing fake banknotes.

Farrell, from Thorntonhall, South Lanarkshire, was jailed for 27 months when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday after pleading guilty to VAT fraud and money laundering at a previous appearance in January, HMRC said.

Authorities are also seeking a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) against Farrell for when he leaves prison.

If successful, it would be the first to be imposed on the back of an HMRC conviction in Scotland.

Michael Mullen, 41, an associate of Farrell’s, pleaded guilty to owning or controlling registered addresses for false businesses to facilitate the commission of VAT fraud in a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court last month.

Mullen, from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, was sentenced to a Community Payback Order and a Restriction of Liberty Order at the same court yesterday.