Hampshire lawyer jailed over money laundering
6 Jun 06
Six years for assisting in £200 million scheme
A senior legal executive employed by a Hampshire law firm was yesterday jailed for six years for his role in laundering more than £200 million from the proceeds of a complex VAT fraud.
Justice Rivlin sentenced Laurence Peter Ford of law firm Beveridge Gauntlett after the jury found him guilty of money laundering charges at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.
Ford's conviction follows a lengthy investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Passing sentence, Justice Rivlin told Ford: "The scheme was deliberately and carefully planned and executed to assist men involved in a massive MTIC carousel fraud of between £20-30 million. You set up the means to enable the money to be laundered."
Roy Clark, HMRC Director of Criminal Investigations said: "Yesterday's verdict is clear evidence that HM Revenue & Customs will rigorously pursue not only those directly involved in attacking the VAT system, but also those who help to launder the proceeds of such fraud.
"Mr Ford abused his position of trust to launder the proceeds of organised crime and as such was as guilty of an attack on the UK's taxation system as those who organised and ran the fraud."
Following suspicious activity HMRC investigators examined the origin of large sums of money passing through the law firm's bank account. An analysis of the financial records identified deposits totalling over £250 million between May 2002 and March 2003 moving through the Beveridge Gauntlett account and subsequently Ford was arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
It is believed that this money was derived from a number of VAT related frauds, particularly carousel frauds.