Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Five jailed for £17 million mobile phone VAT fraud

Five men have been jailed this week at Southwark Crown Court for a total of 15 years after a £17 million ‘missing trader’ VAT fraud. A sixth is awaiting sentencing. HM Revenue & Customs conducted a four-and-a-half year investigation that involved mobile phone accessories, SIM cards and digital memory. A further £5 million of VAT claims were stopped, with an additional £300 million planned.

Gary Lampon, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said “This was organised fraud on a massive scale used to blatantly fund the extravagant lifestyles of this criminal gang at the expense of the British taxpayer. ‘Missing trader’ fraud is not merely a paper fraud, it is organised crime and we are determined to pursue and bring to justice the criminals behind this type of fraud and confiscate the proceeds of their crimes.”

The gang’s cash proceeds were used to purchase a number of high-value items, including several properties worth over £1 million each, a Rolls Royce Phantom and a Ferrari. Over £8 million of assets have been restrained so far and confiscation proceedings are underway.

Harbinder Singh Samra, described as one of the ‘principal players’ in the fraud and sentenced to four and a half years in prison, was shot four times during the conspiracy while getting into his Rolls Royce outside The Hardwick public house in Walsall, West Midlands.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: NewsNumber of views: 8623

Tags: uk legal crime vat

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Opinion Articles

Why the cloud will kill SMS text messages... eventually

Mark Bridge writes:

This week my lovely wife made a rare error in leaving her mobile phone behind when she left the house. Fortunately I was working at home, so I was able to answer her calls and relay her messages. But it got me thinking. What were the alternatives?

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating

This week at The Fonecast: 1st May 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

We've had another short working week here in the UK... although not necessarily if you're working in retail. The reason for that shortness was a combination of Easter Monday and the Royal Wedding – an event that was rumoured to have its own mobile phone jammer.

As well as having another short week, we've also had another week of financial figures.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

This week at The Fonecast: 23rd April 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s Easter, but that’s not stopped the mobile phone industry from generating plenty of news stories.

Let’s start with partnerships. Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom - which already work together as Everything Everywhere in the UK – have now agreed to combine their procurement activities for customer equipment, network equipment, service platforms and IT infrastructure. Yes, even these two telecoms giants can save money with group buying!

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Exactly how boring is the Samsung Galaxy II S?

Mark Bridge writes:

In July last year I wrote about the 'geek porn' of unboxing being taken to a new level with celebrity unboxing (which sounds rather like a challenge from a reality TV show).

Sony Ericsson had persuaded Maria Sharapova to give her first impressions of the X10 Mini Pro. The end result was entertaining, if not insightful.

And now Samsung have added a new facet to the trend with 'extreme unboxing'.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

This week at The Fonecast: 16th April 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

We started this week with a story that grabbed plenty of attention. It was a report from Billmonitor.com that claimed we in the UK were wasting almost £5 billion every year by choosing the wrong mobile tariffs. Although I remained a little cynical about some of the detail, there's no doubt that many consumers could be better off if they switched tariff - or even network.

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First7576777880828384Last

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«July 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
24252627282930
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930311234

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement