David Alexander Smith, 61, of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, was a director of FB Realisations Limited, known as Balgownie Limited until a name change in May 2024, and he was the company’s finance director. He had been a director of the business since 2015.

Over a period of three years from 2019 to 2022, Smith submitted false VAT returns for Balgownie Limited, an Aberdeen based agricultural and construction machinery company, by under-declaring more than £1.5m to HMRC without the knowledge of his fellow directors.

Balgownie was renamed as FB Realisations in May 2024 and had annual revenue of £25.7m for year end December 2022, the last filed accounts, and pre-tax profit of £242,000, with 49 staff.