Revenue wins £1m confiscation appeal
A ground-breaking confiscation order awarded against a Manchester businessman following his conviction for tax fraud has been upheld by the court of appeal.
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58-year old Jim Foggan of Swinton, had appealed against the confiscation order, after pleading guilty in May 2001 to defrauding the Inland Revenue by diverting over £1m of income belonging to his company into a private bank account.
Under the terms of the confiscation order, it had been ruled that the amount should reflect the full value of the diverted funds – £1,068,441 – as opposed to the amount of tax and interest lost to the crown – £450,398 – as a result of the fraud. Foggon had appealed on the grounds that the order should have reflected only the amount of tax lost.
The upheld ruling fully supports the Inland Revenue’s stance in seeking to confiscate the full proceeds of the crime obtained by the convicted tax fraudster.