Restaurant fraudster caught by his own secret books

The owner of a Derbyshire restaurant has been jailed for three years for a £480,000 tax fraud that was discovered when investigators uncovered a hidden sales book dating back five years.

Nazrul Islam, owner of Jaipur restaurant in Repton, hid sales in a bid to evade nearly £480,000 of tax payments.

An investigation by HMRC, which involved searches of his restaurant and his home, discovered meticulous records of daily takings between 2012 and 2017 which did not match up with sales he submitted in his VAT returns.

Investigators also discovered that Nazrul had registered a different card payment machine, which was sending payments into a separate account. The card sales, along with the hidden cash sales, helped him hide up to half of his declared takings.

Over £22,000 was found hidden in a wardrobe.

Richard Paris, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “This was a determined, well planned and long running fraud, which even saw Islam buy and use separate card payment machines.

“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. Islam deprived vital UK public services of this money and he gained an unfair advantage over honest competitors who pay the tax they owe.”