At Olliers, we act in criminal HMRC investigations. We do not act in civil fraud investigations.
We are ranked as a Top Tier Crime and Fraud Firm by the Legal 500 2025 as well as Chambers Directory 2025. We are a Times Top 200 law firm. We are the current Manchester Legal Awards Crime Team of the Year, an award we have won seven times since 2011 in the space of just over 10 years.
We have a team of over 25 defence lawyers. Eight of our Partners are recommended Legal 500 lawyers, including Matt Corn, Gareth Martin, Toby Wilbraham and Richard Cornthwaite. Our Managing Director, Matthew Claughton is a recent Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Criminal Lawyer of the Year.
Criminal HMRC investigations
Cases in which HMRC will generally consider starting a criminal investigation are:
- organised criminal gangs attacking the tax system or systematic frauds
- where an individual holds a position of trust or responsibility
- where materially false statements are made or materially false documents are provided during a civil investigation
- where, pursuing an avoidance scheme, reliance is placed on a false or altered document or such reliance or material facts are misrepresented to enhance the credibility of a scheme
- where deliberate concealment, deception, conspiracy or corruption is suspected
- cases involving false/forged documents
- cases involving importation/exportation breaching prohibitions and restrictions
- money laundering cases with focus professionals who provide the means to put tainted money out of reach of law enforcement
- where perpetrator has committed previous offences or there is a repeated course of unlawful conduct or previous civil action
- in cases involving theft, or the misuse or unlawful destruction of HMRC documents
- cases involving assault on, threats to, or the impersonation of HMRC officials
- links to suspected wider criminality, whether domestic or international, involving non HMRC offences
When considering using the civil fraud investigation procedures or criminal investigation, one factor will be whether the taxpayer(s) has made a complete and unprompted disclosure.
There are certain fiscal offences where HMRC will not usually adopt the civil fraud investigation procedures under Code of Practice 9. Examples of these are:
- VAT ‘bogus’ registration repayment fraud
- organised Tax Credit fraud
Who in HMRC can use criminal powers?
Only two directorates, in HMRC namely Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) and Risk and Intelligence Service (RIS) have ‘authorised officers’, who are able to use criminal investigation powers. It is important to note that not all officers in FIS or RIS are authorised officers.
Power of arrest
HMRC has specific powers of arrest for HMRC offences which cannot be used for non-HMRC offences and can only be used by officers who have been trained and authorised to use the power.
Division of civil and criminal powers
During a criminal investigation officers will use criminal investigation powers to gather evidence to support a future prosecution. Civil powers should not be misused to gather evidence to support a criminal investigation. Civil powers are used when seeking to make a civil assessment of tax owed, collect tax, or levy civil penalties.
External safeguards on the use of HMRC’s investigation powers
Statutory and non-statutory safeguards apply to HMRC’s use of its criminal investigation powers. For example, production orders and search warrants have to be issued by a magistrate and the use of surveillance is subject to external approval at the highest level.
Moreover, HMRC is not responsible for prosecuting the crimes it investigates, this decision being taken by the CPS in England and Wales.
Increase in maximum terms for tax offences Section 32 Finance Act 2024
The 2024 Finance Act has increased certain maximum terms of imprisonment in respect of the most serious offences investigated by HMRC.
Stop notices under S.34 Finance Act 2024
A stop notice is a notice given by an authorised HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officer to a person who they suspect of promoting certain arrangements. That person becomes ‘subject to a stop notice’. Other persons associated with the recipient may become subject to the notice.
The notice requires the recipient and other persons subject to the notice to immediately stop promoting arrangements of the kind described in the notice. It also requires the persons subject to the notice to meet certain other obligations, for example giving a copy of the notice to other persons subject to it.
When you might be committing a criminal offence
The government introduced two new criminal offences relating to stop notices in the Finance Act 2024.
A person may commit a criminal offence if they:
- continue to promote arrangements meeting the description specified in the stop notice, or
- do not comply with a duty to give a copy of a stop notice to another person subject to that notice, and that person then promotes arrangements specified in the stop notice
The corporate tax evasion offences under the Criminal Finances Act 2017
The Criminal Finances Act 2017 introduced two new corporate offences of failure to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion.
The first offence applies to the criminal facilitation of UK tax evasion, the second to the criminal facilitation of foreign tax evasion.
The new offences are modelled on section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 and apply to ‘corporate bodies’, which includes law firms.
They are strict liability offences, although businesses will have a defence if they are able to demonstrate they had ‘reasonable prevention procedures’ in place.
The Act applies to all entities in the world where the underlying tax is owed to HMRC and applies to non-UK taxes where an entity is incorporated in the UK, has a place of business in the UK, or any aspect of the offences occur in the UK.
As with the Bribery Act, firms will have a defence where they can demonstrate they have put in place ‘reasonable procedures’, (or that it was reasonable not to establish additional procedures at the time the offence was committed).
Contact Olliers Solicitors – specialist HMRC fraud lawyers
If you or your company face investigation or prosecution please contact Matthew Claughton or one of our team – we can help.
We have offices in both London and Manchester and our specialist team of lawyers can advise and represent you in relation to your case.
Complete the form below and we will contact you
Manchester
Head Office
- 0161 8341515
- info@olliers.com
- Fourth Floor, 44 Peter Street, Manchester, M2 5GP
