The Nation Newspaper

Tag: tax fraud

  • False alarm: Whistleblower remanded in prison for N700m pension, tax fraud

    An Ikeja High Court, Lagos has remanded a whistleblower, Lord Umoh Archibong Edem, in prison custody for raising false alarm over an alleged N700 million pension and tax evasion fraud.

    Edem was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on making false statement to a public officer before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.

    EFCC prosecutor S. O. Daji told the court that the defendant committed the offence on August 7, 2019 in Lagos.

    Daji said the defendant provided a false information to a public officer and the EFCC about the involvement of a company, Starsonic/Sacvin Group of Nigeria, where he is an employee, in a pension and tax evasion fraud.

    “The defendant claimed that the management and staff of the company was involved in a massive pension fraud, tax evasion and other fraudulent activities to the tune of N700 million,” Daji said.

    The prosecutor added that the offence of making false statement to a public officer contravened Sections 96 (a) of the criminal law of Lagos State, 2011.

    According to informstion before the court, “Edem had on August 7, with an intent to cause arrest and prosecution of the management staff of Starsonic/Sacvin Group Nigeria Limited given information he knew to be false to the EFCC and Mrs. Patience Kalu, a public officer, that the company was involved in a massive pension fraud, tax evasion and other fraudulent activities running over N700m”.

    Edem pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The Vacation Judge, Justice Oshodi, thereafter, remanded the defendant in prison custody.

    Justice Oshodi ordered  the case file to be remitted back to the registry for re-assignment.

  • Nigerian jailed for biggest tax fraud in US

    A Nigerian – Emmanuel Kazeem – who masterminded a plot  to obtain millions in refunds from the United States Internal Revenue Service has been sentenced in Oregon to 15 years imprisonment.

    Kazeem, 35, of  Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced in Eugene, on Thursday for a “vast conspiracy” of identity theft and tax fraud.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the convict  bought  personal information (including social security numbers and dates of birth) and used same  to fraudulently file thousands of tax returns on behalf of unwitting victims.

    “Emmanuel Kazeem orchestrated one of the largest tax fraud schemes in our nation’s history. The complexity of this case and the incredible effort by law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice cannot be understated,” Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon,said.

    Kazeem purchased more than 91,000 stolen identities from a Vietnamese hacker—who pried that information from an Oregon background check company’s private database.

    Between  2012 and 2015, Kazeem and his co-conspirators filed over 10,000 fraudulent tax returns in an attempt to get over $91 million in refunds.

    Not all of the fake returns were successful—but out of a possible $91 million, Kazeem and his crew still managed to receive more than $11.6 million in refunds.

    The lid over Kazeem’s fraudulent activities was blown open in 2013  after  a Medford resident noticed that someone had filed false tax returns on behalf of her and her husband.

    She alerted  the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which swung into action and was able to track down  Kazeem.

    Kazeem reportedly purchased a $175,000 townhouse and put a $200,000 down payment on a brand new home in Maryland.

    He also attempted to develop a $6 million 4-star hotel in Nigeria.

    Security agents arrested  Kazeem in May of 2015 and their probe of his background revealed  that he  had also engaged in marriage fraud with a view to staying  in the country after entering on a student visa.

    Kazeem was convicted by a federal jury on 19 counts—including mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud—in Medford on August 4, 2017.

  • Tax fraud: Govt probes 200 whistleblowing tips

    Tax fraud: Govt probes 200 whistleblowing tips

    The Federal Government has begun investigation into over 200 whistleblowing tips on tax officials demanding gratification and taxpayers involved in under declaration of taxes.

    Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun spoke yesterday in Abuja while presiding over the meeting of the Whistleblower Unit in the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA).

    The Federal Ministry of Finance had requested and secured the suspension of two senior tax officials in Delta and Benue states based on verified tips from Whistle-blowers.

    The ministry is analysing over 200 additional whistleblowing tips, including recordings between tax officials and potential taxpayers in which various practices, designed to reduce tax payable, were detailed.

    A statement by Oluyinka Akintunde, Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance, quoted Mrs Adeosun as saying: “Encouraging our citizens to pay taxes is a matter of law but it is also a matter of trust. Those who work in our tax offices must therefore demonstrate the highest level of integrity.  However, people will not be encouraged to pay if they believe that those involved in the assessment are not transparent or are dishonest. We will continue to sanitise the system and also improve our controls.

    “The data analysis being undertaken within the Federal Ministry of Finance is readily   exposing those who have obtained tax clearance certificates that are either forged or are not consistent with their true income levels.”

  • Mourinho in €3.3m (£2.9m; $3.6m) fraud allegation

    Mourinho in €3.3m (£2.9m; $3.6m) fraud allegation

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been accused of tax fraud by Spanish prosecutors investigating his time as Real Madrid’s head coach.

    The Portuguese-born Mourinho is accused of defrauding Spain of €3.3m (£2.9m; $3.6m) in taxes between 2011 and 2012. He has yet to comment on the claim.

    A prosecutor said he did not declare income from the use of his image rights in order to get an “illicit benefit”.

    Other big names in football have been accused of tax fraud in Spain recently.

    Those include Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who played under Mourinho and shares the same agent as him. The player is accused of defrauding tax authorities of €14.7m, by also hiding his income from image rights.

    RELATED: “I will dump Madrid if convicted on tax allegation”

    He denies the accusations and is threatening to leave Spain. The Portuguese-born star is set to give evidence in his case on 31 July.

    Mourinho, 54, is accused of two counts of tax fraud – €1.6m in 2011 and €1.7m in 2012. The Madrid prosecutor said the case was presented to a local court.

    Other footballers accused of tax fraud in Spain include:

    • Barcelona and Argentina footballer Lionel Messi, who has been handed a 21-month jail term. His father Jorge, who manages his finances, was also convicted
    • Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano – also an Argentine – admitted tax fraud, escaping a jail term with a one-year suspended sentence
    • Barcelona and Brazilian star Neymar is also facing allegations of corruption and fraud over his transfer to the Spanish club in 2013 – a case which also involves his parents. Prosecutors allege the transfer cost much more than publicly declared, and that millions were concealed from authorities
    • Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, was arrested in May as part of a money-laundering investigation

  • Ricci heiress convicted of tax fraud

    The heir to the Nina Ricci perfume and fashion for has been convicted of tax fraud by a Paris court after hiding millions in an offshore HSBC account.

    Arlette Ricci, 73, was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a €1 million (£720,000;$1.1million) fine.

    The court also confiscated two properties worth four million euros (£2.9million;$4.2million).

    HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm is being investigated after a leak revealed large scale tax fraud.

    Ms Ricci, who can appeal, was given a two-year suspended sentence on top of her one-year custodial sentence.

    Her daughter, Margot Vignat, 51, was also convicted and given an eight-month suspended sentence.

    Ms Ricci was accused of hiding millions of euro from the French authorities to evade tax using an offshore HSBC account.

    She was ordered by the court to pay millions in back taxes for the period of 2007-2009, with the  amount to be set at a later date.

    Ms Ricci was the first of around 50 French nationals to face trial over tax evasion in the HSBC case. Her prosecution was seen as a test case for the so-called “Swissleaks” scandal.

    A list of thousands of HSBC’s clients was passed to the French government in 2009 by whistleblower Herve Falciani, a former employee of the bank’s private operation in Switzerland.

    The bank’s tax-evasion practices were reported in February by the BBC’s Panorama programme and a host of other international media outlets, leading to criminal investigations in the US, France, Belgium and Argentina but not in the UK, where HSBC is based.The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was given the leaked data in 2010 and identified 1,100 people from the list of 7,000 British clients who had not paid their taxes. But almost five years later, only one tax evader has been prosecuted.

    In February, HSBC Group Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver admitted “unacceptable” practices had taken place at its Swiss arm.

    Nina Ricci was born Maria Adelaide Nielli in Turin in 1883, before settling in France aged 12 and founded the Nina Ricci business with her son in 1932.