Amarjit Singh Sidhu (49), along with three others, stole a total of £771,000 in income tax, National Insurance and VAT owed to HMRC.

The fraudsters failed to pass on to HMRC the tax and national insurance contributions deducted from staff salaries.  They set-up a sham company (Tempaid Ltd) to avoid paying the taxes and to suppress the VAT liability of their legitimate company, Multiple Construction Limited.

Last month, a jury at Reading Crown Court found Amarjit Singh Sidhu, Balwant Kaur Sidhu (his wife) and Surjit Singh Dhindsa (his cousin), guilty of cheating the public revenue.  Rajinder Singh Bhattle, (Singh Sidhu’s brother in law) who pleaded guilty last year, was also sentenced today.

·         Amarjit Singh Sidhu was jailed for four and a half years and disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

·         Surjit Singh Dhindsa was jailed for 20 months and disqualified from being a company director for five years.

·         Rajinder Singh Bhattle was jailed for 16 months and disqualified from being a company director for five years.

·         Balwant Kaur Sidhu was given a 12 month sentence, suspended for 12 months, and disqualified from being a company director for five years.

In sentencing, His Honour Judge Risius CB said:

“There was an element of professional planning.  This was a deliberate attempt to mislead Revenue Investigators.”

Andrew Pavlinic, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC said:

“These people have not only evaded paying taxes, robbing the public purse, but have also stolen from the pockets of their employees.  We take a serious view of such conduct and will actively pursue those who commit such fraud to the full extent of the law.  These sentences will serve as a deterrent to anyone considering committing tax fraud.”

Amarjit Singh Sidhu was the company director of Multiple Construction Limited, a labor supply business based at Egypt Lane, Farnham Common in Slough.  His company supplied labor to a number of construction companies based in London, whose contracts involved the construction of Wembley Stadium, Canary Wharf and White City.  His wife Balwant Kaur Sidhu was the company secretary.  In April 2004, Multiple Construction Limited transferred all its employees to another company, Tempaid Limited, run by Rajinder Singh Bhattle and Surjit Singh Dhindsa.

The Court heard that the fraudsters created Tempaid Limited in an attempt to evade tax and reduce the VAT liability of Multiple Construction Limited.  The workforce was never transferred from Multiple Construction Limited.  Tempaid Limited was in effect used as a hidden bank account to under-declare the profits of Multiple Construction Limited.  Multiple Construction Limited would issue checks for payment of false invoices to Tempaid Limited.  The funds were then withdrawn and used to pay employee wages in cash.  Tempaid Limited never invoiced Multiple Construction Limited to cover the hours worked and the taxes due.

During the investigation, HMRC found that of the 200 employees of Multiple Construction Limited only 87 were identified as using legitimate National Insurance numbers.  The payroll records showed that false National Insurance numbers were used by the fraudsters for the balance of their employees.

Both companies went into liquidation in 2005.  The money that Multiple Construction Limited retained in its bank accounts should have been used to settle the outstanding taxes, but was instead used to fund the extravagant lifestyle of Amarjit Singh Sidhu and Balwant Kaur Sidhu.  This included assisting in the purchase of ‘Millstones’, the family home, which cost over £1,000,000, along with other properties, which were let to tenants.

Following his arrest in 2006 Amarjit Singh Sidhu immediately re-mortgaged some of his properties, removing equity of £800,000, which he transferred to India.  Confiscation of assets is being sought.

This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO).

Source: HM Revenue & Customs

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Around 70 officers took part in the operation, resulting in the seizure of ten thousand liters of fake vodka, branded as Glens, manufacturing equipment including stills, bottles and counterfeit packaging – labels and cardboard boxes.

Over 35,000 liters of pure alcohol were also seized, enough to make around 100,000 liters of vodka. The potential revenue loss to the public purse on yesterday’s haul is over £1 million.

Andrew Pavlinic, Assistant Chief Investigation Officer for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), said: “The success of this operation is a result of our determined efforts to disrupt and dismantle the illegal supply of alcohol. Organized crime has a detrimental and harmful effect on all our communities as well as a damaging impact on our environment. The revenue loss to the public purse on alcohol fraud relating to spirits is around £225 million a year – money vitally needed for our public services.”

The action follows an investigation into a suspected illegal counterfeit alcohol manufacturing operation based at a remote industrial unit at a farm near Little Dalby, Leicestershire.

Initial investigations indicate a sophisticated operation with the equipment to mix the vodka on site using pure alcohol and other chemicals. The bottles of vodka seized feature professionally printed labels, duty stamps and bottle tops – all of which are counterfeit.  Analysis of a sample bottle show higher levels of methanol. In high quantities methanol can pose health risks.

It is believed this was a substantial production bottle and distribution plant with the infrastructure to distribute large quantities of counterfeit Glen’s vodka throughout the UK.

The six men arrested have been released on bail until January 2010.

The operation was supported by Leicestershire Trading Standards.

Source: HM Revenue & Customs

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