Four members of an organised crime gang jailed for their part in a £17m 'missing trader' VAT fraud have been ordered to pay back £4.38m of their criminal profits or face a further 18 years in jail.
Criminal investigators from HMRC smashed the multi-million pound fraud, which centred on the mobile phone industry, after a five-year probe.
VAT repayment claims to steal a further £5m were also intercepted. Paperwork found during house searches showed that the gang planned to steal an additional £300m of VAT.
Dave Cowie, HMRC's assistant director of criminal investigation, said:'This gang stole vast amounts of money to fund a life of luxury they neither earned nor deserved. We are determined they do not leave jail to enjoy that lifestyle again and have restrained a number of high value assets. There are several properties in the UK, Florida and Spain and the UK worth over £1m each, and proceeds from the sale of high performance cars, including a £250,000 Rolls Royce Phantom and a £165,000 Ferrari.
'HMRC works tirelessly to identify and recover the profits from crime. If these criminals do not pay up, they will serve extra time in jail, and still owe the money when they are released.'
The conspiracy involved the import of mobile phone accessories and electronic media, including memory and SIM cards, from the EU. Once imported, the goods would be sold on a number of times along a contrived supply chain before being exported back to the EU. The exporter would then claim a VAT credit from HMRC for the VAT paid on the purchase of the goods.
The HMRC operation involved investigations in China, Taiwan, India, Italy, Denmark, Germany and Belgium. HMRC investigators worked with overseas officials to follow the trail of money.
Confiscation orders were secured for all four on 8 March 2013.
Syed Faraz Hussain, of Woking, was ordered to repay £200,523 within six months or serve an additional two and a half years in prison, while Harbinder Singh Samra, 42, of Sutton Coldfield was ordered to repay £2.03m within six months or serve an additional seven years in prison.
Karnail Singh Samra, 61, of Sutton Coldfield, was ordered to repay £2.09m within six months or serve an additional seven years in prison.
Gurjit Singh, 48, of Sutton Coldfield, was ordered to repay £60,822 within six months or serve an additional 18 months in prison.
The quartet - who were jailed in September 2011 - were part of a wider gang involved in the same fraud, nine of whom were jailed for a total 21 years in January 2011 and December 2010.