Blog
Supreme Court clarifies VAT group rules in Prudential v HMRC
Waqar Shah
6 November 2020
Civil or criminal proceedings for serious fraud?
HMRC’s criminal investigation policy makes it clear that it will tackle tax fraud by civil investigation procedures wherever possible, with criminal investigations reserved for the most egregious of offending. It is therefore highly unusual for an appellant in the tax tribunal to argue his case is so serious it should only be dealt with by way of a criminal investigation. However, that is exactly what happened in the Upper Tribunal case of L Hackett v HMRC [2020] UKUT 212 (TCC).
2 November 2020
Account freezing and forfeiture powers widely used by law enforcement agencies
North Yorkshire Police announced in October 2020 the recovery of over £300,000 by means of Account Freezing and Forfeiture Orders (AFrOs and AFoOs). The news serves as a reminder of the popularity and increasingly widespread use of this law enforcement power that was created under the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
30 October 2020
Deferred Prosecution Agreements - New SFO Guidance
The SFO’s entered into its ninth deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) earlier today, this time reaching a resolution of bribery allegations with a company called Airline Services Limited. With other corporate cases still on its books, we can expect to see more DPAs as these cases work through the system. So, what does that mean for companies which might be caught up in an investigation?
30 October 2020
GOWISELY: Time to stop and think about stop and search
The aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the strength of feeling surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement should provide Police forces in the UK with a reason to re-assess their relationships with the communities that they serve.
30 October 2020
Cannabis and the UK investor – two years on
Headlines such as “Spain becomes cannabis hub as criminals fill tourism void” (The Guardian 9 October 2020) serve to remind us of the endemic demand for marijuana, the resultant profits to be made and enforcement agencies’ inability to control Europe’s illegal trade run by drug mafias. By contrast, Canada, on 17 October 2018 and following the example of Uruguay, elected to legalise adult personal possession, sharing and cultivation of recreational cannabis.
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