18 Mar 2015 – Two staff members have been arrested in St Peter Port, in connection with an investigation into a suspected £21m vat and money laundering fraud.
They were arrested at an address registered to several companies, and will be interviewed today.
Its part of an investigation called operation bannock that spans the British Isles, and has involved officers from local law enforcement, hm revenue and customs, Cheshire constabulary, the national crime agency and the Isle of Man.
At the same time 12 other premises were searched, in Cheshire, London, Manchester, and the Isle of Man, and five other people were arrested.
A spokesman for Guernsey’s financial investigations unit says details of the companies and connected individuals will not be released at this time, because the investigation is ongoing.
“Guernsey takes its role in preventing and detecting financial crime extremely seriously. High level criminality and money laundering go hand? In? Hand and as such we will invest considerable time and resources into targeting people suspected of using Guernsey for those aims.
“this is a large scale operation which not only illustrates the capability we have locally, but how committed we are both as an island and within law enforcement to sharing information with other jurisdictions and taking joint action where appropriate.”
Guernsey financial investigations unit
“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime and costs millions of pounds in lost revenue that should be funding public services every year. No one agency can tackle this alone and we are committed to working with our partner agencies in the UK and abroad to target those who try to attack our tax system.
“Anyone with information about people or businesses involved in tax fraud can contact hmrc through the tax evasion hotline on 0800 788 887.”
Diane Donnelly, assistant director, criminal investigation, hmrc
Last updated wed 18 mar 2015
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