Businessman found guilty of VAT evasion

A BUSINESSMAN was yesterday convicted of defrauding the taxman of £760,000. Israr Javid, 42, from Glasgow, was also found guilty of planning to defraud HM Customs and Revenue of a further £3,484,923.46.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that Javid, who was company secretary and a director of Blueridge Brokers based at Park Quadrant, Glasgow, came up with a fraudulent scheme to avoid paying the full amount of VAT he owed to the government. A jury took less than an hour to find him guilty of two counts of VAT evasion.

Judge Lord Uist told Javid: "You have been convicted by the jury of a serious and brazen fraud on the public purse." Deferring sentence for background reports, he added: "You should be in no doubt that you face a sentence of several years in prison."

Revenue inspectors discovered that Javid had a set up fraudulent scheme and intended to submit a claim which would have led to him paying 3,484,923.46 less in VAT than he should have.