The owner of a popular Nottingham Indian restaurant concealed his income to steal £203,000 – hiding half of it inside carrier bags at his house.
Mohammed Ibrahim, who runs Chutney, Friar Lane, played down the takings of the business to steal £150,000 he should have paid to HMRC through his VAT returns.
He and wife Rukhsana Kuhsar Yasin started to attract the attention of tax investigators, who discovered the couple were breaking the rules between May 2008 and December 2014.
Rukhsana, 43, was found to be claiming she was living as a single parent working more than 16 hours a week and often inflating her childcare costs, to claim £53,000 in tax credits she was not entitled to.
But the whole time the pair were living together with their three children in Melbury Road, Woodthorpe.
HMRC officers raided their house in December 2014 and seized £97,765 in cash, which was found in carrier bags inside a cardboard box.
Most of the £98,000 was stashed inside carrier bags in a cardboard box
Ibrahim, 48, admitted the cash was the proceeds of crime.
He admitted fraudulent evasion of VAT and possessing criminal property. His wife admitted tax credit fraud.
The investigation started after checks of the restaurant’s books aroused the suspicions of tax specialists.
On Tuesday at Nottingham Crown Court Ibrahim was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. His wife was given eight months, also suspended for two years.
A huge pile of £10 notes found at Mohammed’s house
Stuart Taylor, of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “Mohammed was a respected restaurant owner but went to great lengths to steal the VAT that should have been paid over to HMRC to help fund vital public services.
“At the same time Ruksana claimed to be a single parent, living alone, in order to get her hands on a five-figure sum she wasn’t entitled to.
“The couple committed fraud to fund a lifestyle beyond their legitimate income but now they have lost their reputation. This will act as a stark warning to anybody thinking about committing tax fraud.”
