A bid by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to launch a tax crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gangs has hit a roadblock, as the president of the Hells Angels has avoided conviction for fraud after his accountant took the blame for tax irregularities
Angelo Pandeli faced charges in court of tax fraud after he allegedly failed to lodge tax returns for the 2014-2015 financial year. He was also accused of failing to provide tax returns as requested after the ATO served a notice on him in September 2016 requiring a detailed income statement.
When Pandeli appeared in court he pleaded guilty but his lawyer submitted an affidavit from his accountant who took responsibility for the irregularities.
The unnamed accountant stated that he had submitted a return on behalf of his client but his software did not notify him it had not gone through, with the result that a penalty was issued.
The magistrate went on to record no penalty or conviction against Pandeli, saying he had ‘a reasonable belief to trust the tax agent’, and that ‘the accountant has certainly fallen on his sword,’ according to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The attempt to bring the Hells Angels president to court formed part of an initiative launched by the ATO earlier this year, when the tax authority announced that almost 200 outlaw motor cycle gang members had been targeted for tax evasion as part of a week of action undertaken by the ATO, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and state and territory police.
As part of this, the ATO issued tax notices for service to members of outlaw motor cycle gangs for failing to comply with their tax obligations including the correct lodgement of returns, paying taxes, and correctly reporting income they have earned.
To date, almost half the notices have been served, including 11 notices for tax debts totalling nearly AUS$4m (£2.34m). The remaining notices will continue to be served over coming weeks.
The campaign forms part of ATO’s contribution to the work of Operation Morpheus, a joint agency taskforce aimed at detection, deterrence and disruption of outlaw motor cycle gangs and their members.
In 2015-16, Operation Morpheus targeted 668 taxpayers and raised tax liabilities of $13.3m. A total of 193 tax returns were secured with $5.9m cash collected, 35 people prosecuted for non-lodgement, and a further $55,000 raised in prosecution fines.
An ATO spokesperson said: ‘An unprecedented level of available data and data-matching programs has increased our capacity to bring to light illegal activities that might previously have fallen under the radar.
‘We investigate all serious tax-related fraud offences, and share information with our Commonwealth partners. Where the evidence warrants it, we refer cases to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution.’
