Scottish fraudster jailed
A criminal money launderer, who was the subject of an international arrest warrant and featured on HMRC’s rogues picture gallery, has been jailed for a total of 11 and a half years. Michael Voudouri of Scotland pleaded guilty in October 2012 to laundering over £11.6 million linked to a VAT fraud. He was due in court for sentencing in November 2012 but absconded until he was eventually tracked down hiding in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was returned to Scotland by HMRC Officers in May 2014 for sentencing.
Anne-Marie Gordon, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC, said:
‘Michael Voudouri made significant amounts of money from his criminal activities; he was involved in complex and organised money laundering fraud over a long period and is now finally facing justice. We will continue to work with our partners in the Scottish Organised Crime Task Force to stop criminals profiting from their illegal activities. I urge anyone with information about people or businesses involved in tax fraud to contact HMRC on the Tax Evasion hotline on 0800 788 887 or online atwww.hmrc.gov.uk/reportingfraud/online.htm.’
HMRC’s most wanted list is published on HMRC’s flickr channel and includes pictures of fraudsters together with details of their crimes and the amount of tax which has been evaded. There are currently 35 fraudsters identified in the gallery, most are still wanted although some have been caught and jailed.