Operation Tangelo 2

£10 million fraud. The defendant was part of a huge operation involving a number of companies and individuals (a total of fifteen of whom appeared before the court) aiming to defraud the revenue through supplying a false ‘chain' of documentation for alcoholic goods in order to avoid duty owing on imports.

The disclosure exercise alone has taken around a year and cost HMRC in excess of £8m. It was on the issue of disclosure that this case was fought and won by the Defence. Although the full details have not been made known to the Defence, the Prosecution felt unable to continue with the prosecution, prior to trial following a number of hearings on the disclosure issue.