Why did HMRC make it's most recent arrests?
Eight individuals were arrested and charged with making fraudulent R&D tax claims that amounted to millions of pounds. Back in October 2022, HMRC made the arrests of the eight accused individuals after investigating them and discovering that they have been receiving R&D tax credits which they were not eligible for! One of the arrested individuals was a tax agent, who knew he was illegally claiming those credits.
What was shocking is that these individuals did not only make illegal R&D tax credits claims, but also laundered the £16m proceeds by submitting over 100 fraudulent R&D tax credit claims!
This HMRC tax investigation was one of a kind. As 130 HMRC investigation officers issue warrants across the UK to capture the criminals. HMRC was swift in its decision to issue nationwide tax investigations and was able to protect £46 million of public funds as a result.
Earlier this year, due to a large number of fraudulent R&D tax credit claims, HMRC suspended governmental funding temporarily. It is evident that these claims were well-organised, yet they failed to go unnoticed under HMRC’s radar. Since April 2022, 1,600 claimants have been required to provide more information to the tax authorities, and hence the amount of time needed to receive those credits increased from 28 to 40 working days.
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