Verdicts in tax trial

Two men have today (Feb 8) been found not guilty of cheating the public revenue following a two week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
 
The case followed a HMRC investigation, which began after an earlier City of London Police inquiry identified possible tax related offences and referred the matter to the HMRC.
 
The force’s involvement in the case was typical of the tax-related cases it works with the HMRC on. While the initial investigation was into a separate matter, HMRC was involved from the outset, and information that identified apparent tax-related offences was passed to them to investigate further.

The HMRC’s investigations prompted the Crown Prosecution Service to recommend in January 2010 that Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric be charged with cheating the public revenue.

Protracted legal proceedings meant the pair did not stand trial until January 2012.

Commenting on today’s not guilty verdicts, Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart from the force’s Economic Crime Directorate said:
 
“City of London Police respects the verdicts of the jury.

“Officers will sometimes uncover evidence of potential tax offences, which we will pass on to the HMRC. We have supported the HMRC throughout this investigation and will continue to work closely with them in the future.”

Background Information on related investigations

The City of London Police began an investigation into money laundering in 2006.

It was in the public interest to investigate allegations which impacted on the reputation of the business of football.

It was clear from the outset of this inquiry that it was a high-profile case that could attract criticism of the force. This did not deter the force from taking the case on, nor was it treated any differently to other allegations of fraud and money laundering.
 
As the lead force for fraud, the force continues to take on high-profile fraud cases.

This was a protracted investigation which focused on a number of areas including the football industry. It was during the course of this wide ranging investigation, that officers uncovered evidence of a number of apparently undisclosed payments between clubs and their employees.
 
HMRC was involved in the investigation from the outset, and when it became clear the evidence pointed to apparent tax-related offences, the HMRC took over the lead role. City of London Police continued to support the HMRC investigation, as is usual practice in such investigations.

As well as the case which concluded today (Feb 8) at Southwark Crown Court, the HMRC investigation resulted in separate charges being brought against Milan Mandaric and Peter Storrie. A jury at Southwark Crown Court delivered a not guilty verdict for both men in November 2011.
 
The City of London Police will not be commenting on any other civil or criminal tax issue which may be linked to the football industry.

Cost

In January 2009, the force was asked, under the Freedom of Information Act, to confirm how much was spent on the initial investigation.

Whilst the investigation had been the main focus for a small number of officers within the force, it has not been their sole responsibility, with the officers at various times engaged on other investigations and activity that one would expect to see from a detective.
 
With that in mind, it isn’t possible to accurately calculate the salary costs. The cost of overtime was £12,246.83, while the cost of officers travelling overseas to conduct investigations abroad totalled £3,500.
 
The full FOI 2009 response is available on the force website and can be read here.
 
The force has continued to support the HMRC in its investigation since that FOI request. The overtime for members of the team involved in that work since January 2009 is £6,486.65, but again, we are unable to state how much of this total is directly applicable to the investigation, as the officers are involved in other investigations.