Two accountants have been bailed to appear at the Old Bailey next month after appearing at City of London Magistrates Court on Tuesday over an alleged £1m tax relief fraud.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged Edward Watkin Gittins and Martin Calcutt with cheating the public revenue by abusing tax relief that allows individuals making gifts to charity to offset the market value of the gifts against their tax liabilities. Calcutt also faces a charge of forgery.

The alleged offences took place between 29 March 2004 and 16 February 2007. Gittins was a director of Montpelier, an Isle of Man-based tax consultancy whose offices were raided as part of an investigation by HMRC in 2010.

Both were granted unconditional bail and will appear at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales - the Old Bailey - on 9 September.