The UK Times has reported that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has admitted for the first time that it allows the most powerful members of society to escape prosecution for financial crimes.

At an economic crime conference in Cambridge last week, a senior government official admitted that the tax authorities accommodated celebrities’ concerns and settled debts privately to avoid the embarrassment of a public trial.

HMRC, however, continues to prosecute smugglers, small businesses and benefits cheats.

Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, said that

•  “very wealthy and prominent members of the community” were afraid of the “reputational damage” that a criminal trial for fraud, money-laundering or tax evasion would bring.

He admitted that

•  “criminal justice” was never a “default option” for HMRC.
•  “We use it where it is necessary and it will have the greatest effect,” Las said.
•  “When deciding whether to deploy our resources, we try to understand what motivates different types of offenders.

For example,

•  some tax offenders are very wealthy, prominent members of the community.
•  We know that these types of people do not want the reputational damage of custodial sentences, and we can use that to our advantage.”

The news raises fresh questions about the approach of HMRC, which has been criticised for failing to prosecute high-profile people with financial interests in offshore tax havens.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e630876a-b3a4-11e8-a225-46081b2ac219