FRAUD - Customs kills 'phoenix'
An unqualified accountant will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court next week following conviction for his part in a #3m VAT/PAYE fraud.
Roger Langley of north London was convicted last month on fraud charges following the collapse in 1994 of two clothing retail chains which formed part of Paul ‘Poly’ Polycarpou’s trading empire. The fraud involved ‘phoenixing’ or contrived liquidations in the companies.
Customs was ‘delighted’ at the conviction, but the court victory was matched by disappointment that the u3m will never be recovered.
Polycarpou, who headed up the group, was himself convicted at a trial last September, after pleading guilty to the suppression of #260,000 worth of VAT.
The jury was unable to agree on two further counts, and a re-trial was ordered.
Polycarpou, who fell ill between trials and was judged unfit to appear, was sentenced to a Hospital Order without restriction, and banned from being a company director for 10 years. At the re-trial, Langley pleaded guilty to the contrived liquidation of companies to avoid #3m in VAT and PAYE.
Five men were originally arrested by police in November 1994: Langley, Polycarpou, Andrew Polycarpou, Angelos Polycarpou and David Harris, then the company’s accountant. Harris and Andrew Polycarpou were released without charge. Angelos Polycarpou was charged but later acquitted on the judge’s direction.
The convictions ended a seven-month Customs operation which focused on the companies which were involved in the manufacture, wholesale and retail of ladies fashion wear, trading as Solo or ARC.
In their heyday in the mid-1980s they operated from over 40 shops in prime locations in the UK, aiming to rival retail giants Next and Principles.
